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American Women's Club of Hamburg  FAWCO Update -- June/July 2005Originally published in Currents, June/July 2005 Highlights from the FAWCO Biennial Conference in Birmingham by Frauke R-H Forty-one of the worldwide 74 FAWCO clubs in 35 countries attended an inspiring and invigorating few days at the conference 2005 in Birmingham. The Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) is an international network of independent organizations whose mission is to:
Voting-from-overseas Chair Kathy Webster (AWC Brussels) reported 24 clubs initiated voter registration campaigns, one of them being AWCH. In recognition of Kathy’s 25 years of dedicated service to helping overseas Americans vote, Polli Brunelli, Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program, presented several gifts. Among the awards were letters of appreciation from Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfawitz and Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, a “Rock” desk weight with the Dept.of Defense logo, an FVAP Special Recognition Coin, and a U.S. flag with a certificate stating it was flown over the Pentagon in recognition of Kathy’s service to the country.
Paula’s Dream: “What if FAWCO takes a Bite out of Malaria?”... At the FAWCO Biennial Conference in Birmingham, our NGO Director Paula Daeppen (AWC Zurich) reviewed the United Nations Millennium Goals (see list at end of this article) and challenged FAWCO Member Clubs to adopt a single Millenium Development Goal (MDG) and help make it a reality: As Paula said, “What if FAWCO could be responsible for saving the lives of thousands of children by committing to just one MDG? U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, speaking to me and other NGOs said, ‘It is people mobilized as you are, more than any government initiative or scientific breakthrough, who can overcome the obstacles to a better world.’” One of the MDGs takes aim at malaria. Malaria kills a child every 20 seconds. Something as simple as sleeping with a chemically treated mosquito net will save lives. A mosquito net costs approximately $5 – an unaffordable price for people living in poverty. What if FAWCO could save the lives of thousands of children every year by supplying mosquito nets? FAUSA president Dale Koepenick stepped up at the conference with a pledge from FAUSA for 100 nets. Counselor Ellen Rice from AAW Ireland later told Paula that every member in her club would purchase a net. What if the AWC of Hamburg would consider an action in this direction? For example, participating in FAWCO’s set target of $75,000 to be reached by its 75th anniversary in Berlin, March 2006. Please contact Frauke R-H if you would like to discuss ways to participate. What are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable goals for combating the world’s problems. These eight goals are called the MDGs and were set with a first target date of 2015 to try to improve the world of today. They are a global challenge for reducing poverty and improving lives. Using 1990 as a benchmark, by 2015 all United Nations Member States have pledged to: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, including reducing by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and reducing by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger Farewell by Frauke R-H My term as AWCH FAWCO Representative is coming to a close, and I am passing the job on to Pat R, who will act as a liaison between the AWCH and FAWCO for the term of two years. Please accept my sincere thanks to each member for supporting the FAWCO goals, especially in philanthropic matters, and in the support of U.S. citizens overseas’ rights and information. Our club’s work, together with the team around the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg, in support of “Registration to Vote” was highly successful and received a great deal of attention by the local press and U.S. citizens outside our club. I am pleased that my FAWCO work does not end here: I continue to be the FAWCO Rep. for Region 5 (Germany and Austria). One of my goals is to increase closer communication between us and the other five clubs, Berlin, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Taunus and Vienna, especially since almost all of the clubs have expressed their wish to visit each other on an informal basis, besides the “official” regional conference. This is a great chance to find out how many highly interesting ladies are active in these clubs and to get to know them personally. Our biggest goal in 2005/2006 is supporting AWC Berlin in the preparation for next year’s worldwide FAWCO Interim Conference and 75th Anniversary in Berlin in March, 2006. Please stay involved.
Message from Patricia R, FAWCO Representative As your newly-elected FAWCO representative I look forward to bringing you news about FAWCO activities as well as presenting your ideas to the other FAWCO members. FAWCO is an umbrella organization of over seventy women’s clubs representing over 17,000 women in thirty-six countries. It was founded in 1931 to work toward international goodwill and the preservation of world peace. Their resource of people and experience is broad, and I encourage all of our members to look at the FAWCO website at least on a monthly basis. It is easy to click on the FAWCO website directly from the Members‘ Section of this website – the password is provided. Just reading the profiles of the newly elected Board officers was interesting, and I am excited to meet them and work with them in the next two years. 2005 is a particularly significant year as the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and reflects on the 30th anniversary of the evacuation of American forces in Vietnam and the fall of Saigon. Our family histories reflect the importance of these two historical events and display the common bond we share as Americans, having witnessed these events together. My own family history is similar to that of many other American families. In 1941 my parents were college students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor my father was drafted with the rest of his engineering class into the Army Corps of Engineers and was quickly shipped out to the jungles of New Guinea and the Philippines. He proudly showed me a picture of a bulletproof cab for an earth-moving vehicle that he had designed to protect drivers from snipers. He later was part of the occupying forces of Japan where he immediately fell in love with the adorable Japanese babies and children. My mother was glad to see him return, although he was very thin and jaundiced from malaria and hepatitis. They moved into former military metal Quonset huts that had been set up on the football fields for married students with a lot of other returning GIs. Although the living quarters were sparse, there was a feeling of support and camaraderie. My older sister was born there and they both looked back fondly at those times as the best years of their lives. My older two sisters and I were all college students in Madison in the late 60s and early 70s. America was once again in an armed conflict and we watched our boyfriends, husbands and classmates being drafted and shipped to Vietnam. Most came back but many didn’t. My college memories include being part of the large anti-war demonstrations and protests against Dow Chemical and other weapons manufacturers that were recruiting on campus; running from class to class with a scarf over your face to protect you from the burning tear gas even when you weren’t part of the demonstrations. We were all proud of being part of something bigger than ourselves and having contributed to helping to end the war and save lives. We also learned the importance of being active and involved citizens. Decades later many war veterans and their families are looking for closure and healing of old war wounds and painful memories. Many books are being written to share these experiences with others and to remind people that it is helpful to talk about their war experiences openly and honestly. Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation was a best seller and opened the way for many families to discuss their own stories. German authors have recently released books about the fire bombing of several German cities, signalling that it is not only OK for Germans to finally openly talk about this, it is essential that all of the victims of war describe what had happened to them. The anniversary of the invasion of Normandy last year gave many of us another chance to thank those who had so proudly served their country. My father came to Hamburg and sat in the garden with Peter’s father who had been sent at age 17 to the Russian front with a German Panzer unit. Peter translated a few questions they had for each other, but even in their silence they could appreciate what the other had experienced and survived. We were all deeply moved by this experience, repeated throughout Europe by veterans of both sides. The Chinese and Korean people, still needing closure and healing, are yet seeking an apology from the Japanese people for the atrocities of WWII. The “comfort women” of both countries are still demanding to be acknowledged and compensated for their suffering although most have already passed away. Thousands of American Vietnam veterans and their families are visiting Vietnam and supporting orphanages and victims of Agent Orange. They are looking up former girlfriends and meeting with their own children that they had never seen before. An excellent book, War Torn – Stories of War from the Women Who Covered It, tells a touching story of a former reporter returning to Vietnam with her adopted Vietnamese daughter to look for the orphanage where she was first found. They both needed this trip to heal and move on. We all hope that the present conflict in Iraq will end soon and that a draft of another generation of young Americans will not be required. I am especially concerned as my son is just finishing his final college years, and I would hate to see another generation of my own family involved in a foreign war and the memories and guilt that any war creates burdening another generation of Americans. One of the FAWCO resolutions passed in March was to promote mutual respect and understanding between the U.S. and other countries. FAWCO endorsed the United Nations as a forum for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and encourages respect for international perspectives on current issues by arranging for qualified speakers and workshops at conferences and regional meetings. I encourage all members to think of other ways that better understanding between Americans and others could be accomplished. When the war in Iraq was just starting and the tensions between Germans and Americans were increasing, an American woman invited both Germans and Americans to her home for a lovely luncheon. She hoped that way that people could express their personal feelings about the situation in Iraq more comfortably. I applaud her for having taken the initiative to make that thoughtful gesture. The AID organization (Americans for Informed Democracy) has recently sponsored several international video conferences to discuss American foreign policy issues and help Americans and others better understand and communicate with one another. AID also sponsors workshops, conferences and summer retreats in Europe for students to learn how to better communicate on these issues with one another. Several AWCH members are concerned that their American children have been teased and harrassed at school, especially since the American invasion of Iraq. The programs offered by AID may be helpful to these parents and students as well as for all of our members who are raising their children here in Europe and that may have a different perspective than other family members back in the States. AID also offers help to students who have been in Europe and will be attending American Universities and colleges on how to prepare for the “culture shock” and how to best communicate with their fellow American students who may have a very different perspective on global issues. Please check the AID website for more information on future programs: www.AIDemocracy.org. I look forward to discovering and developing with you new and creative ways to put into action the FAWCO resolution to increase mutual respect and understanding between the U.S. and other countries, both here in Hamburg and globally.
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The representatives of the new FAWCO Board for 2005-2007 were selected because of their life experiences and accomplishments, both within and outside of FAWCO. They will constitute an excellent leadership team.
U.S. Liaison Lucy Laederich, AAWE Paris, discussed several issues at hand: counting overseas Americans (4.1 million) and facilitating voting from abroad will remain priorities in the coming year. Both issues are closely connected to the present lack of any formal representation of overseas Americans in Washington. Once outside U.S. borders, Americans often have difficulty in being heard. Lucy’s ongoing project is to pursue the creation of an official caucus in Washington dedicated to active dialogue with the overseas American community, and to urge Congress to explore possibilities for setting up a council of overseas Americans with consultative status with the United States government. Lucy also attended the 4th Annual Overseas American Week in Washington in May.
FAWCO is soon to become a “Grand Old Lady” and will celebrate its “Diamond Jubilee” in Berlin, 2006. A team is working on a FAWCO 75th Anniversary History Book, which will be presented at the Berlin Conference, March 2006. All clubs in Region 5 are working hard on supporting AWC Berlin with planning and preparation of this big event.