According to its charter, the Board of Directors (BODs) of the Uyghur American Association (UAA) holds a congress every two years. The second Uyghur Congress will be hosted at Marvin Center, George Washington University on May 28, 2000, from 12:00 pm - 6:00 p.m.
Announcement about the 2nd Uyghur Congress
George Washington University
Marvin Center
Washington, DC
12:00 - 6:00 p.m., May 28, 2000
According to its charter, the Board of Directors (BODs) of the Uyghur American Association (UAA) holds a congress every two years. The second Uyghur Congress will be hosted at Marvin Center, George Washington University on May 28, 2000, from 12:00 pm - 6:00 p.m.
Since its establishment two years ago, UAA has contributed significantly to the increased visibility and recognition of Uyghur issue in the United States of America as well as other part of the world. It is the UAA's effort that the Uyghur population in the US had dramatically increased in the past two years. More importantly, obtaining legal residency has become easy. First time in history our countrymen back home hear Uyghur voices coming from the US and feel that they are not forgotten! First time in history, Uyghur issue has been brought up to the US congress, Senates and the United Nations by the American government officials.
These are not small things, and it is wrong to think that they have come easily. We achieved these because we organized ourselves as a collective power. American society is based on principles and disciplines that are expressed through organizations. That is why American government recognizes and honors organization. Without our organization, it would be impossible for us to achieve what we have achieved. As an organization can we do what we are not able to do as individuals.
Our accomplishments have opened the door for greater opportunities. However, UAA has yet to overcome the unique challenge that arising from our limited resources. We are a small community scattered all over the country. We all have to take care of our jobs and family on top of our obligation to UAA. As you are all aware, prioritizing between these different responsibilities is a challenge.
However, no matter how big is the challenge, if we stand together and work together, we can meet the challenge and make a difference! The door for us just opened here, we can not afford to close it. We are the hope of our people. We have to recognize this and make our organization stronger, more mature and accountable. It needs tremendous sacrifice but it is worth to do so.
This congress provides an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we have a respected organization and can do things in an organized way. If we do not take ourselves seriously, we might suffer the consequences. If we do not care about ourselves, nobody will. That is why nobody knew Uyghurs until we started to make our voice heard. Your participation in this event is very important. Your voice counts!
The congress will review UAA's past performance and discuss and set future goals for UAA. The congress will also re-elect a board of directors for UAA. As before, the nominees will be produced by self-nomination among the people who live in the United States of America. Every nominee has to prepare a nominee statement to introduce him/herself and propose his vision for the organization. The speech should not exceed 10 minutes due to the time constrains. The nominees have to submit their statement and mail it by May 1, 2000 to:
Turdi Ghoja
120 Estates Blvd Apt. 186
Hamilton, NJ 08610
Email: tudih@aol.com
The congress will mainly be conducted in Uyghur language; however, speeches can be given in English. Board of Directors encourages every one of our communities with lofty ideals to nominate him/herself for the board of directors. Participants may register by completing the Registration Form enclosed, printing it and then mailing it by May 20, 2000 to:
Murat Quadir
1517 Fairway Dr. Apt. 202
Naperville, IL 60563
Phone: (630) 548-6306
Email: mquadir@nalco.com
For the congress expenses, UAA board of directors ask each Uyghur family to contribute $50.00, each single person $40.00. The donation is tax deducible. UAA will acknowledge and provide a receipt for your donation for tax purposes. Please make every effort to attend the 2nd UYGHUR CONGRESS. UAA's success depends on your support and donation.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors Uyghur American Association
The Second UAA Board of Directors and Responsibilities
1. The President
The person should be able to play a leading role in the Uyghur community in the United States, have proven ability in organizing a variety of activities, be able to give convincing speeches either in politics or other areas, be fluent in English, Uyghur and other languages. He/she has to a person with confidence and dedication to the cause of the Uyghur community in the United States. He/she should be able to resolve a variety of problems facing our community.
2. Vice President: Collects information on Human Rights Situations and activities in Eastern Turkistan and reports to the board of directors and sends the findings to Human Rights Organizations and related government officials. Must have goog knowledge of Human Rights and the UN convention on Human Rights. The Vice President resumes the duties of president in the absence of president.
3. General Secretary
Assisting the President in coordinating the activities of the Board of Directors. Keep track and make permanent record of all the activities of UAA. Prepare official document and letters on behalf of the Board of Directors. Respond to inquiries, e-mails and letters from other organizations and individuals (if necessary). The person has to be fluent in at least three languages - English, Uyghur and Chinese. He/she has to have excellent writing and information technology skills.
4. Treasurer
Responsible for all the financial matters of the organization, he/she has to be willing and able to organize fund rising activities. Manage the spending of the Uyghur American Association. The person holding this position should have a very strong economic or business background, should have the proven ability in accurately handling financial issues.
5. Director of Communication
He/she should be able to promote scientific and technological exchange between Uyghurs in the United States and rest of the world, actively create conditions for this kind of communication such as organizing scientific or cultural conferences, Uyghur community cultural/social gatherings. The person is also responsible for publishing a journal or other publication of UAA.
The newly elected Board of Directors held their first meeting on May 29 and had job distribution among themselves. The names and functions of the new Board of Directors are as following:
Ghoja Turdi, President
Rushen Abbass, Vice president
Ilyar Shemshidin, Treasurer
Maynur Yusuf, Secretary
Parhat Yasin, Director of Communication
Several organizational changes occurred after the second Congress. The current officers of UAA:
Turdi Ghoja, PresidentDear UAA members,
Thank you for entrusting me the important responsibility of being a Board of Director of UAA. I'll cherish your trust and do my best to serve our community. Together, we will make a difference in the future of our people.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank the former Board of Directors for their outstanding service.
I specially thank Rizabek Pasha aka, Erkin Alptiken aka, Enver Can aka and other distinguished guests who came from far distances with their great hopes for UAA. Their presence at the Congress was tremendous inspiration and encouragement for all of us. That reminded us of the great expectations of our people from our community.
On behalf of the Uyghur community, I also would like to thank Jack and Kathy for the terrific jobs they have done for our people! Jack, Kathy, your effort is making a difference for Uyghur people. You will be remembered by them.
Establishment of Uyghur American Association is one of the major milestones in our community in US. It is the manifestation of our desire to have a closely held community and a common voice.
Since its establishment two years ago, UAA has survived the tests of constant challenges and achieved significant accomplishments. Most significantly, UAA has contributed significantly to the increased visibility of Uyghur issue in US and other part of the world.
The creation of Radio Free Asia, the Amnesty report and recent Senate and Congress resolutions on Rabiye Kadir are major milestones in our struggle for visibility and recognition of the human rights violations in East Turkistan. These milestones have opened the door for a greater opportunity. However, UAA has yet to overcome the unique challenge arisen from our limited resources. We are a small community scattered all over the country. We all have to take care of our jobs and family on top of our obligation to UAA. As you are all aware, prioritizing between these different responsibilities is not easy.
However, no matter how big is the challenge, UAA will survive and grow. Today, our people is experiencing the worst time of our history. Our community in US is small, but we are well aware of the fact that we are the hope of our people. We have to face the harsh reality and take up the challenge. No matter how small we are, if we stand together and work together, we can make a difference, as we have already demonstrated.
As a reflection of the strength of our community here, UAA is a small organization today without an office yet. It's future still will mirror our young community's American dream. I firmly believe that it is only a matter of time before UAA finds its place in Uyghur history and becomes an important tool of communication between our people back home and the western civilization. UAA will spread the seeds of democracy in East Turkistan by taking advantage of our people's trust in and respect for our community.
We all came here to learn. Our people expect great things from us because of that. UAA is part of that learning process. It will provide us with a rich and rewarding experience. Let's learn it together and build a stronger UAA for a better future for Uyghurs.
Turdi Ghoja, President