ADC’s President speech at the 19th National Convention
We wanted this Convention, after the tumultuous events of this past year, to be a political statement, a social event, and a festival of celebration and remembrance, and you, by your active participation and your presence are making it so. You are giving a message to our community, to our nation, to the Arab world and to the world at large that the Arab American community is standing together tall and proud. Proud of who we are and of what we stand for.
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s remarks, delivered by H.E. Ahmed Maher, Foreign Minister at the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
It gives me great pleasure to address you on the occasion of the National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. I am particularly pleased to see you gathered here at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington.The History of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee speaks for itself. Your organization has had its invaluable contributions in serving the interests of the American-Arab community in the United States. Your cause is a noble quest for recognition and empowerment that I enthusiastically commend and strongly support.
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Hanan Ashrawi‘s speech
Thank you very much and thank you for sparing them the introduction, Ziad. It is wonderful to be with you again and I thank you humbly for this very warm welcome and the very warm individual welcomes that I’ve received since I got here. I must tell you that it wasn’t very easy to get here, it was probably one of the most difficult tasks I’ve done. I am impressed with the technology that I see here today and I‘ve been coming to ADC for years. It is very impressive. And this is something we have to deal with and I’m not saying that to be negative. Technology, advancement, money, power can be used for good and for evil. And let us hope that this gathering lets us transform the use of the technology from destruction and victimization to one of reconstruction and vindication. (applause) And I can tell you honestly that not since the Nakba of 1948, have we witnessed or have we undergone such a decisive, critical and painful moment in history. I haven’t seen such a concentration of raw pain in Palestine and an unleashing of violence, unbridled violence on the innocents.
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Ambassador Nasser Al Kidwa‘s speech
Shokran Khalil? I am not Saeb Erekat, and again I will have to try my best to be as good a substitute as possible, if at all possible. However, I have to start on a sad note with the loss of Hala Maksoud, and to express my heartfelt condolences to my friend Clovis, to her family, and to the whole family of ADC.
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Clovis Maksoud‘s speech
Thank you very much. Yesterday, the President Ziad Asali informed this convention that is the largest number of people registered who are young students. Inspired by this declaration, I feel perhaps that at the closure of this great convention perhaps a dialogue among generations might be necessary but before I do that I want to once again tell you how deeply affected we have all been especially in the family of Hala, by the emotion and sympathy and support that you have given us which has made the transfer from mourning to celebration of her life and of her legacy. I speak about the dialogue of generations, because Hala established a foundation to train young people to sustain both a commitment to Arab justice, and civilization, and culture and also to empower the Arab American community further, to know how to listen in order that they know how to be listened to.>>More
Remarks by Bianca Jagger
I was invited by the United Nations Population Fund to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians living in the West Bank. My visit lasted a week, ending Sunday 28th of April. I joined humanitarian convoys organised by UN agencies to deliver basic supplies of food, medicine, pregnant women‘s kits, blankets and temporary shelter for people under siege in Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus and Jenin refugee camp. I witnessed Israeli military forces preventing the delivery of vital aid to those in need by relief workers. I can confirm that UN aid providers are kept waiting long hours at checkpoints before being allowed access to the needy, or before being turned away and denied entry by Israeli soldiers.
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Rashid Khalidi‘s speech:
When we look around us at the world, everything seems bleak — whether in Palestine, where the 36th year of occupation began two days ago and where things seem worse than ever, or here at home, where routine media abuse of Arab-Americans, violations of their rights, and racist stereotyping and caricatures have only grown more prevalent since September 11th of last year.
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