How we became successful in Washington DC

UPDATE: AN INSIDE VIEW OF LOBBYING THE WHITE HOUSE FOR A SAFE HAVEN IN THE NINEVEH PLAINS

I just spoke to a man I am proud to call our foot soldier in A Demand For Action: Steven Oshana, who used to work for the Assyrian American National Coalition as a lobbyist from 2008 to 2009. He gave me an exhilarating account of the efforts thus far for a safe haven in the Middle East.

Oshana used to work on President Obama’s Illinois Senate campaign, and according to him the man who later became president was very engaged with the Assyrian community there and had good working knowledge of the situation in Iraq and Syria.

As a Senator he even asked then Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice why she didn’t do more to help the Assyrians. Secretary Rice’s response wasn’t exactly satisfactory, neither was what the State Department was doing. According to Oshana, there were two vitally important issues at the time which are still significant. The first is to support the Nineveh Plains Administrative Unit, which essentially means creating, under Article 125 in the constitution, a new province in Iraq’s Nineveh Plain specifically administered by the ethno-religious minorities who make up the majority of its inhabitants. The second issue is that the State Department help put into place the full security force that was ordered in the Nineveh Plain to protect, and be comprised of, the minorities in this region.

Oshana has decided to get back into the game of high-level Washington lobbying for two reasons: his uncle, Assyrian activist Raymond Oshana, the man who first introduced him to then State Senator Obama, called and said his nation needed him and the community needed a meeting with the Obama administration. He looked at the situation and realized that it was now or never; if the world doesn’t help save the Assyrians now, there will be no more Assyrians to save.

A Demand for Action also created an effective platform for him to work from. Of A Demand for Action, Oshana says “By rallying the community to raise awareness, and by creating public forums in the media, we were able to approach the situation from the position of a legitimate, recognized global crisis.” He and others were provided both facts and detailed reports about the situation. The community behind A Demand For Action has also provided a worldwide network to boost both grassroots-level efforts, as well as high-level lobbying.

So Oshana decided to put his particular skills to use. The first thing he did was to call his friends at the White House and request a meeting for the Assyrian community as a personal favor. He also went to the demonstration held last Saturday in Washington, DC and approached Martin Youmaran, one of the leaders involved in the Assyrian American National Federation, and the one who organized the rally.

”I told him the lines of communication with the White House are open” Oshana says. ”Martin was very open to it, and the President of the Federation, William Youmaran, said he would make himself available anytime if we could make a meeting happen. They expressed that ‘we need this to happen, the President needs to hear our voices’.”

The meeting he sought at the White House eventually materialized with the National Security Council and included Chaldean leaders, who had separately requested a meeting as well. “The NSC wanted everyone at the table together”, Oshana says.

”We met with the White House on Thursday, July 31st 2014. The meeting took place in the Roosevelt Room, a couple doors down from the Oval Office. We met with Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Adviser, who reports directly to the President.” In addition to Mr. Rhodes the meeting included Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to the President, Philip Shaw, Director for Counterterrorism, and Andrew Kim, Director for Iraq at the National Security Council. In addition to Mr. Oshana, present in the meeting were Martin and William Youmaran from the Assyrian American National Federation, as well as several leaders of Chaldean community such as Mark Arabo of San Diego, and Auday Arabo, Joseph Kassab and Nathan Kalasho of Detroit, respectively. “We presented our requests of the President in several categories as part of a comprehensive U.S. led solution: Current legislation, security, humanitarian aid, and the need to expand refugee quotas for Iraqi Christians.”

Oshana spoke about current legislation, including HR.301, which would create a special envoy within the State Department for the protection of religious minorities in the Middle East. “This bill has cleared Congress and the first thing we requested was the President’s signature.” Oshana is very optimistic: ”They obviously don’t address these requests without speaking to the President first, but I’m confident that he will sign it” he said, adding “This would create a huge opportunity for us to address the humanitarian and security situation directly within the State Department.”

He mainly believes the President will sign it for two reasons: First, Obama supported the cause in the past and is very aware of our plight. Second is the organizational effort of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac community, such as A Demand For Action. “Our community has made it unmistakably clear, both through grassroots initiatives and with direct engagement with the White House and Congress, that we will continue our efforts until this issue is addressed”, he says.

Security was addressed by briefing the National Security Council on events currently unfolding and making it clear the entire Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac community would like to see the United States supporting those who are currently providing protection to Christians as well as supporting a “protected space” for Iraq’s Christian population.

They made the case that the President not only needs to increase humanitarian aid for basic necessities, such as potable water, food, and shelter, but that they need to ensure the aid that is provided is being used appropriately and directed towards the people it is meant to help.

Finally, addressing the reality that many have already fled Iraq and are in refugee limbo in neighboring countries, the community leaders requested that the refugee quota for Iraqis be expanded to accommodate as many of the fleeing Christians as possible.

Oshana lays out the next steps: ”We are going to continue our discussions with the White House and establish what the President is going to do with regards to humanitarian aid, security, and self-determination through a protected space in the Nineveh Province.”

After the meeting with the White House there was one final issue to be considered. Two bills, HR.683 and HR.CON.110, were making their way through the House of Representatives. The bills were very similar, condemning the violence against Christians and calling for U.S. support of these communities, and both the Assyrian and Chaldean communities had spent the afternoon of the July 31st lobbying dozens of members of Congress to support their respective bills. On Friday morning, August 1st, Steven awoke to find a message in his inbox from a member of Congress: there was a deal on the table. If nobody objected to the language, the original sponsors of the HR.CON.110 would get behind HR.683 and push for a vote that afternoon shortly before Congress adjourned for five weeks.

Steven sent a message to Mark Arabo, who was responsible for bringing HR.683 to the floor via Congressman Juan Vargas, and told him he was going to encourage all his Cosponsors of HR.CON.110 to support the Vargas resolution if everyone signed off on it. A moment passed as Mr. Arabo confirmed the details. “Let’s do this” he replied “as a team.” Oshana furiously worked Congressional offices, asking the cosponsors to all get behind HR.683. As the hours passed, the sun set on the Capitol, narrowing the window of opportunity.

Just before 11:00pm on Friday, the bill hit the floor. There were no objections, and HR.683 passed by Unanimous Consent. It was the final bill to get a vote before Congress adjourned.

Asked if he was happy with the outcome Oshana replies ”It’s hard to be happy while our people are suffering, but I’m pleased with what we accomplished in such a short period of time.”