FoSL Advocacy Report
In March several board members visited Peace Corps headquarters and met with Henry McKoy, Regional Director for Africa. The purpose of our meeting was to urge the return of Peace Corps to Sierra Leone. We were told that Salone is one of the countries being considered In August Judy Figi and Jim Sheahan met with Country Desk Officer, Paul Johnson, on the same issue. Judy was in Sierra Leone in July and brought back several letters from school officials and other Sierra Leoneans asking for the return of Peace Corps. She gave all the letters to Johnson who advised us to "keep the pressure on."
We need your help. Please call, fax or e-mail your two Senators and your Congressional Representative. Ask them to contact Peace Corps and request that they return to Salone. Snail mail takes a long time to reach anyone in D.C., but can be sent to their city or state local offices. The best contact of all is a personal visit, either in Washington or when they are at home in their local office. If you are in Washington, D.C., you can call your their office for an appointment. We would like the Peace Corps Office to be flooded with letters about Sierra Leone. We all have moving stories about our experiences there and we need to share them.
The Peace Corps Director is Gaddi Vasquez and his telephone number is 202-692-2109. Henry McKoy's phone number is 202-692-2306; his fax number is 202-692-2399; or you can e-mail him at: mckoy@peacecorps.gov The street address for Peace Corps Headquarters is: 1111 20th St., Washington, D.C. 20526.
Our second advocacy issue is obtaining TPS or DED for Sierra Leoneans who came here during the war. All of them are responsible, tax-paying citizens who have lost their TPS status and are no longer in this country legally. Many are losing their jobs and thus, their ability to support not only their families in the U.S. but also families in Sierra Leone. The economy of Sierra Leone still makes earning a living difficult. There are few jobs or few opportunities right now for these people to earn a living and support their families in Sierra Leone. We are asking that TPS be reinstated for them, as it has been for Liberians. If not TPS, we ask that DED (Deferred Enforced Departure)be granted, allowing them to remain here for a year to get their affairs in order.
DED can only be granted by Executive Order of the President and has to come from The White House. The FoSL Board sent a detailed letter to the President on this issue and is awaiting a reply. In the meantime, we need Senators and Representatives to exert pressure, too. Please, contact your Congressional delegation and ask them to contact the Executive Branch on this issue. We need both Democrats and Republicans to join in this non-partisan effort to help Sierra Leoneans.
