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Salaam Alaykum!
As part of its vision and mission, the NASIMCO Post serves as a tool by which to bind our community together and promote a unified and caring environment for all. If you have anything you would like to include in this newsletter, contact us at info@nasimco.org.
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| NASIMCO Secretary General visits The White House |
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(left) Co-Chair of WASITRAC Debadutta Dash, United States Deputy Policy Director for Immigration, Tyler Moran and Washington State Treasurer Habib M. Habib
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Habib M Habib, Secretary General of NASIMCO and also Vice Chair, Media Committee of The World Federation and in his capacity as Co-Chair of Washington State-India Trade Relations Action Committee (WASITRAC), attended a White House closed door policy briefing meeting on December 20th with a panel of senior white house officials and several key members of the government's administration.
The policy briefing meeting covered many upcoming reforms that the current administration has been focused on, including health care and immigration. Addressing his question to the United States Deputy Policy Director for Immigration, Tyler Moran, Mr. Habib M Habib expressed concern regarding the comprehensive immigration bill, which recently passed the senate. He referred specifically to the elimination of "the fourth preference" in the bill which gives rights to USA citizens to sponsor their siblings to the United States for permanent settlement. Mr. Habib made clear that family reunification is an especially important issue for our community, which highly values family ties, and requested the Director of Immigration to support and to increase efforts towards ensuring its inclusion in the immigration bill. He was assured that his concerns had been noted and that the administration is for this inclusion.
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(left) Habib M. Habib Co-Chair of WASITRAC; Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, USDA; Ms. Betsey Stevenson, Member, White House Office of the Council of Economic Advisors
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The meeting was followed by a private White House holiday reception and a handshake with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the First Lady, Michelle Obama.
The panel was moderated by Matt Nosanchuk, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement, and included Christen Linke Young, Senior Policy Adviser for Health Policy and Tyler Moran, Deputy Policy Director for Immigration besides others.
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Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un
Marhum Haji Haiderbhai Kassamali Haji, former President of The World Federation, passed away on Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 and was buried on January 10th, 2014, in Birmingham UK. Mumineen are requested to remember Marhum in their duas.
Marhum Haiderbhai's significant contribution to The World Federation as Councilor, Vice President and President can be summed up with the words: 'he was the right man at the right time'.
As an Executive Councilor and close confidant of Marhum Mulla Asghar, in the mid-seventies along with Councilors Marhum Fidahusainbhai Fazal, Dr Jaffer Asaria and Dr Hasnain Walji, he played a major role in assisting Mulla Saheb in stabilizing The World Federation in its infancy. This was a critical time when the organization had few supporters, no elected office bearers and not many who had the time or the inclination to keep up with Marhum Mulla's vision and the speed with which he aspired to develop the institution.
As the Vice President of The World Federation, he was instrumental in forging strong relations with the Marja of the time, Marhum Ayatullah Khui (RA). His ability to travel to Iraq frequently on his personal business enabled The World Federation to keep in DIRECT touch with the Marja. This was the time in Iraq when Saddam had all but closed the doors to access the Marja. The personal relationship he developed with Ayatullah Al Khui enabled The World Federation to operate without intermediaries. His ability to travel widely from village to village in Gujarat in the late seventies and early eighties, a time when travel was not so easy, resulted in The World Federation learning more about the plight of our Khoja brethren in Gujarat. This resulted in much relief projects being initiated which have had a lasting impact on the community.
As President, he came on the scene at a critical juncture upon Marhum Mulla's sudden resignation in Oct 1979. He ably steered the ship in stormy waters, when many predicted the demise of The World Federation. He was popularly re-elected for a subsequent term and played a major role in reaching the Indian and Jordanian authorities to seek Mulla Saheb's release when he was imprisoned by Saddam.
Haiderbhai's ability to grasp grassroots challenges, can-do attitude and jovial nature earned him much respect, especially amongst those who were privileged to work closely with him. May Allah reward him for his important contributions by way of Sawabe Jaariyah, for his selfless efforts in helping strengthen The World Federation as an institution and make it what it is today. |
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