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A spellbinding read. We are all poorer for having lost this fascinating human being.

The following email comes from Italy–gm

God bless you for your beautiful writing and moving humanity: I had tears in my eyes reading your splendid article (forwarded by a wonderful peace / justice activist) about this wonderful man and humanitarian who was unjustly suspected and harassed by the FBI, which under the Bush regime has become a bullying thought police, instead of being there to protect decent citizens against real criminals and terrorists many of whom occupy the highest seats of power in Washington and elsewhere.

Appeal Forwarded by Steve Yang. Translations by Google Translate–gm

大休斯顿地区中国学生校友为川震灾区学生救助和校园重建义捐倡议书

Chinese students in the Houston alumni for the earthquake-relief area students and campus redevelopment Yijuan倡议书

大休斯顿地区的广大中国学生、校友、教师和朋友们：

The majority of the Houston Chinese students, alumni, teachers and friends:

四川汶川地区发生的7.8级强烈地震牵动着我们在大休斯顿地区学习和生活的中国学生、校友及教师朋友的心。尤其是看到在这次罕见的特大自然灾害中，许多中小学生失去了父母、学校、家园乃至生命，我们非常难受，感同身受。

4 Chuan Wenchuan area of 7.8 strong earthquake affects us in the Houston area study and life of Chinese students, alumni and teachers friend’s heart. In particular, is rare to see in this extraordinary natural disaster, many students lost parents, schools, homes and even lives, we are very uncomfortable, acutely aware of.

为此，我们倡议大休斯顿地区的广大学生、校友、教师和朋友们共献一片爱心，为灾区学生救助和校园重建义捐善款。我们省出一点零花钱，少吃几次早茶，少买两件衣服，来帮助灾区的学生们度过这一难关。

To this end, we initiative of the broad masses of the Houston area students, alumni, teachers and friends offer a total of caring for the disaster area students Yijuan relief and reconstruction money to the campus. We point out of pocket money, eat breakfast several times, bought two small clothes, the disaster areas to help students through this difficult period.

我们同时呼吁在美国出生的华裔学生、包括在中文学校学习的大小朋友们伸出友谊的双手，援助你们遥远的祖先国正遭受天灾的同胞兄弟，体现中华文化中“一方有难、八方支援”的传统美德。

We also appeal to American-born Chinese students, including those in the Chinese school friends of the size of the extended hands of friendship and assistance you the distant ancestors of the people are suffering from natural disasters brothers, reflected in Chinese culture, “a difficult one, P Plus support” Traditional virtues.

中国教育发展基金会已设立了专用美元捐赠账户，接受专为救助灾区学生和校园重建的捐款。大休斯顿地区的各大学中国学生会、中国大学校友会、中文学校和学院等单位可先在内部倡议募捐，并适当汇总后，委托中国驻休斯敦总领事馆教育组代为转捐至中国教育发展基金会。

China Education Development Foundation has set up a donation account for dollars, to help the disaster areas to receive tertiary students and campus redevelopment contributions. Large areas of the University of Houston students in China, the Chinese University Alumni Association, Chinese schools and colleges, and other units can be first in-house fund-raising initiative, and appropriate summary, commissioned by the Chinese Education Consulate General in Houston took the group to donate to the China Education Development Fund Will.

可在捐款支票抬头注明：Chinese Consulate General in Houston，并请注明“China’s Earthquake Disaster Relief”。支票请寄至：

Check the rise in contributions can be annotated: Chinese Consulate General in Houston, and please specify “China’s Earthquake Disaster Relief”. Please check sent to:

Jun Tang
Chinese Consulate General
Education Office
811 Holman Street
Houston, TX 77002

联系方式：电话 (Contact: Phone)：713-522-0244
传真 (fax)：713-522-0015
电子信箱：tangjun-2007@hotmail.com

义款将及时转往中国教育发展基金会，并以最快捷的方式送抵灾区，专款专用。邮寄捐款时，敬请写明姓名、单位和联系地址和电话，以便查询和寄送收据及感谢函。

Just in time, will be transferred to the China Education Development Foundation and the fastest way to reach the disaster areas, earmarking. Mail donations, please specify names, units and contact addresses and telephone numbers for enquiries and send receipts and thank the letter.

如直接寄往中国教育发展基金会，可用该会的专用美元捐赠账户：

Directly sent to the China Education Development Foundation, which will be available for the dollar donation account:

开户单位：中国教育发展基金会
Open an account: China Education Development Foundation
账 号 (Account Number)：01770308091014
开户银行：中国银行总行营业部
Bank: Bank of China head office business department

中国教育发展基金会&
amp;
#32852;系方式：
China Education Development Foundation Contact:
地 址：中国北京市西城区西单大木仓胡同35号
Address: China’s Xicheng District, Beijing Xidan large wooden warehouse alley No. 35
联系电话 (tel)：86-10-66097788， 传真(fax)：86-10-66097755
网 址(url) http://www.cedf.org.cn

大休斯顿地区教育义捐倡议单位：

大休斯顿地区中国联合校友会
腾龙教育学院
休斯敦华夏中文学校
卫凌学校
莱斯大学中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯大学休斯顿健康中心中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯南方大学中国学生学者联谊会
休斯顿大学中国学生学者联谊会
贝勒医学院中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯A&M大学中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯A&M大学Kingsville中国学生学者联谊会
圣托马斯大学中国学生学者联谊会
南京地区42所大学休斯敦校友联谊会
大休斯顿地区其它各大学中国学生学者联谊会、校友会

另，如有其它社团愿成为倡议发起单位，请与顾洁娜联系：（713）884-7823。

Yijuan the Houston regional education initiatives:

Houston large areas of China Joint Alumni Association
Dragon Institute of Education
Huaxia Chinese School in Houston
Wei Ling schools
Rice University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
University of Texas Houston Health Centre Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Texas Southern University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
University of Houston, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Baylor College of Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Texas A & M University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Texas A & M University Kingsville Chinese Students and Scholars Association
St. Thomas University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
42 in Nanjing University of Houston Alumni Association
Other major areas of the University of Houston, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, the Alumni Association

Also, if other organizations wish to become the initiatives launched units, and Gu Jie-na Contact: (713) 884-7823.

“Riad succeeded beyond even his own imagination”

Archived by permission–gm

Note: The memorial for Riad attended by over 200 people from around the US was MC’d by Rev. Edward Hartwell of St. James Episcopal Church and included comments by Sheikh Mohammed Umar Ismail, Daughter Rita Hamad, lifelong friend Nina Glasgow, brother Omar Hamad, fellow Middle School Teacher Mark Kelly, Jack Prince of the IFCPR (who introduced me), a slide show presentation by son Abdullah Hamad, music performance by Lourdes Perez, and reflections by Diana HajAli Hamad. Reflections and stories of Riad are being collected. Please send yours to Riads.Stories@gmail.com

In the past few hours I kept contemplating what to say here. You can see from this sheet that my original talk here is all marked off, edited and changed and will likely be rambling. But I did hope I could preserve a few important things I wanted to say and add others but that has been difficult. Several things cross my mind the rather quickly the first few seconds of meeting Riad over 8 years ago:

• He talks too much !
• He is too good to be true
• and then (and this was mentioned by other speakers) I would like to know more about this guy.

The parking lot outside the Church has several cars with bumper stickers “Free Palestine”. Those are the stickers Riad made and for which I recall that the last time we talked he asked me if I have received the new batch that he sent me through a mutual friend. Like others here and as always, when people leave us, we always wish we had said a few more things to them. We wish we had told them more how we appreciated them. So here goes.

Riad was always on the run. When he did sit for a while like he did when he stayed at our home in CT, the conversations were always very interesting. They ranged from weighty matters like the future of the Arab world to the mundane (like why I am failing at growing the Palestinian faqoos plan in my garden when I could grow everything else).

The famous Lebanese American poet Khalil Gibran once said “you give very little when you give of your belongings, it is when you give of your self that you truly give.” Khalil and Riad will be remembered for giving of themselves. When I first met Riad before he started the Palestine Children Welfare Fund, he was most passionate about the deteriorating situation in Palestinians living under occupation and in refugee camps.

In life there are those who are doers and those who are talkers and Riad was definetly a doer so it did not take him long to figure out where he can personally contribute. His love of children was not just because 60% of Palestinians are under the age of 18. Every other sentence he uttered you would hear from Riad seemed to contain things like “for the Children”, how about the children etc.

Already, the year before he founded PCWF, over 200 Palestinian children were killed and hundreds were injured by the Israeli occupation authorities. But the impact on those not injured or killed was also devastating with unemployment reaching 60% , more than twice what it was in the hight of the great depression in the US. Riad’s solution was direct aid by selling Palestinian products, by collecting donations, and funneling money to those in need.

Some of us have thought he was going too fast and thus putting himself and his projects at risk. But Riad’s imaptience was in a context of a relentless war carried by Israel with the support of the US against the people of Palestine.

Riad always spoke fast and passionately that sometimes it was hard to keep up with him but I think his mind was running even faster, always thinking of new ways to do things. They were always practical things. As an example, when Riad read of my father’s death, he took initiative to ask that a tree be planted in my father’s honor and he sent me a picture of it. That picture had more value than any words of condolensces he could have sent. That was the Riad we knew, always thinking practical things, not mere words.

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. stated: “Cowardice asks the question – is it safe? Expediency asks the question – is it politic? Vanity asks the question – is it popular? But conscience asks the question – is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.”

We know Riad followed his conscience and acted because it is rigt not safe and as Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it well in his poem about What is success?

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better, whether
by a healthy child, a garden patch
or redeemed social condition;
To know even one life breathed easier
because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.”

I think Riad succeeded beyond even his own imagination. I think most of us humans are generally more afraid not that we are capable of changing things but afraid that we are capable beyond our imaginations. I think we have to learn to appreciate ourselves and the people around us more. To Riad’s wife Diana, his children, his family.. thank you for giving us Riad/sharing him with us and with Palestine. We know Riad would want us to take care of each other more and to say thank you more to those who give of themselves.

We know he would want us to intensify our work to help the oppressed. We know he cared about Palestine and recognized the centrality of its struggle for freedom. To continue Riad’s work is thus the right thing to do. I am thus grateful for ICPR, Jack and others who organized the events that will follow this service in Austin. Rest in peace my friend Riad. We will continue your work… “for the Children”.

ACTION: Speak out, silence is complicity
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
http://qumsiyeh.org
http://justicewheels.org

Dear Editor

Thank you for writing about Riad’s Memorial. It made me laugh and cry. I wanted to go but it was impossibly expensive and I feel so bad. Your essay took us there. My friends were there so I could picture them in the audience and will call them next. It was wonderful to hear what his wife and children had to share.

I met all of these people online doing Palestine peace work. . . . I don’t know how he could have committed suicide knowing how much he loved his children. After listening to his principal give her press conference and finding about all the kids who loved him..it made even less sense.

I met him online too of course. Friends in California, in Gaza, and in Belfast all knew him. When I heard he was coming in 2005 to LA area for the Al Awda conference I offered him a place to stay in my home. I didn’t know he would have slept in his car! So he got to sleep on my very comfortable futon couch.

He stayed until Monday or so and we went all over to UCLA and to friends where he dropped off goods for people to sell. He’d say, “just take it and send me the money as you sell it.” Anticipating staying here he said, “I’m shipping stuff to your address.” Dozens of big boxes showed up from Jerusalem and other places.

I still have on can of oil and had honey to sell and use .. gave to another friend who sold some too and my friends from WIBLA bought some too.

He was funny. Very self deprecating.Talked about being an Arab a lot. I can’t find my picture of him. I loved reading his take on the pink shirt. Don’t remember if he wore pink here though. He was a whirlwind. How his family is surviving . . . how shocking to have his life end so abruptly.

Thanks for giving us this peek in Riad’s life.