Traveler's Aid

One of our projects is to improve the image of America abroad.  An idea proposed by Tim Buchholz, Basant and Larry Roeder was a pilot project to explore hosting volunteers inside the customs and immigration area of Dulles airport to enhance the entry experience of foreigners, make them feel welcome to America.  Larry has had a number of discussions with Homeland Security on this; but today met with Sally Harvey of Traveler's Aid, which also uses volunteers in Airports.  Sally likes our idea and wants to explore the possibility for partnership.  She also has ideas on people to meet with at Dulles; but before that happens, will attend our group meeting on May 31.

USIP:

Larry Roeder, Basant Farag and Khadija Ali met with David Smock at USIP today.  USIP is the United States Institute of Peace.  David is USIP's Associate
Vice President for the Religion and Peacemaking program

1. We agreed to develop a joint project which will be a discussion in June that will explore Somali views of the pirate situation.   The event will be filmed by USIP and might create a publication, as is often the case in such situations.  Larry Roeder, Khadija and three speakers of her choosing will be on the panel.  Also invited will be experts from the Department of State and other federal agencies.  Anyone may attend the event, Somalis and non-Somalis.
2. Separate discussions are also under way for a different event at USIP hosted by Mary Hope  Schwoebel, a program officer in the Education and Training Center/International. She holds a Ph.D. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University and an M.Ed. in adult and non-formal education from the University of California, Davis. Her dissertation was entitled Nation-building in the Lands of the Somalis and compared three state-building and peacebuilding interventions in terms of how they negotiated Somali, Islamic, and Western models of governance and conflict resolution.
3. Just after the meeting at USIP Larry, Basant and Khadija also discussed the possibility of a peace rally to be held in Washington, DC.  Should this take place, it would be intended to attract Somali Americans from around the country, as well as non-Somali Americans interested in supporting the Obama administration and a peaceful resolution to the pirate situation and Somalia's fragmented governing structure.