The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
Dear list members, I forward an invitation to attend the launch of a new fundraising drive for the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU). CAABU has a broad and topical mandate, to foster Arab-British understanding. Within this, CAABU has become one of the most concerned and active UK NGOs on the issue of Iraq. It has hosted at least two roundtable discussions with Hans von Sponeck alone, large group meetings with Foreign Office ministers and has organised, with Save the Children UK, briefings on Iraq for MPs and Lords. Their newsletters have kept readers informed of Iraq developments. On a more personal scale, in 1999, CAABU became one of the first broad NGOs to befriend CASI, something that I remember with deep gratitude. I have only just learned that they are in financial difficulty. This surprised me as I had imagined that any organisation that was playing as important a role as they are would naturally have been financially appreciated. The news was even more surprising at a time in which CAABU's work is particularly vital and obvious, with differences in perspective between the Arab and the British worlds threatening to grow. In this environment, it is rare that a week goes by without a letter to the press appearing from CAABU, trying to hold a middle ground. I would urge list members supportive of CAABU's work, either in Iraq or more broadly, to lend their support to CAABU now. Yours sincerely, Colin Rowat work | Room 406, Department of Economics | The University of Birmingham | Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK | web.bham.ac.uk/c.rowat | (+44/0) 121 414 3754 | (+44/0) 121 414 7377 (fax) | c.rowat@bham.ac.uk personal | (+44/0) 7768 056 984 (mobile) | (+44/0) 7092 378 517 (fax) | (707) 221 3672 (US fax) | colinrowat@yahoo.com -----Original Message----- From: Chris Doyle [mailto:doylec@caabu.org] Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 10:29 AM To: Chris Doyle Subject: Press launch invite Press Conference: 15 January 2002 11.00am at Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding 21 Collingham Road London SW5 0NU The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) would like to invite you to a press launch of a new fund-raising drive to save the organisation. CAABU is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving relations at all levels between Britain and the Arab World. It is unique in Europe, having been set in as far back as 1967. The Council's work is varied - from briefing British Ministers and politicians, holding seminars and public meetings and giving talks at colleges and schools around the country. After the events of 11 September, the Council's vital work has never been needed more as the gulf of misunderstanding has clearly widened. According to one recent opinion poll, 83 per cent of the British population knows little or nothing about Islam. The Arab community both here and in the Arab World feels tainted by the actions of the extremist minority. Their legitimate fears and concerns about many issues such as Palestine must not be ignored. CAABU wishes to embark on an ambitious long-term strategy to try to reverse these negative trends, above all through education. To implement this, the organisation needs serious and sustainable funding. However, at present the Council is fast depleting its reserves. By April 2002, unless funds have been raised the organisation faces closure. This would be a savage blow to attempts to try to give Arabs a voice in British political and public life. With this in mind there will be fund-raising visits to the Arab world in the near future. The Press launch will be held at CAABU, 21 Collingham Road, London SW5 0NU at 11.00am on 15 January 2002. Speakers will include the CAABU chairman, Robert Jackson MP, Dr Ghada Karmi (CAABU Vice-Chair) and Sir Cyril Townsend, CAABU Director. Please let Chris Doyle know if you can attend. Private interviews can be arranged on request. More information about the organisation is available on the CAABU website - http://www.caabu.org Chris Doyle 11 January 2002 Chris Doyle Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding 21 Collingham Road London SW5 0NU Tel: 020 7373 8414 Fax: 020 7835 2088 Mobile 07968 040 281 http://www.caabu.org Please note my e-mail has changed to doylec@caabu.org - the old e-mail will work for the time being. The contents of this message may contain personal views which are not the views of CAABU, unless specifically stated. _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.