We Delivered Your Letters—Thank You!
May 2013
More than 50,000 of you joined us in urging the President to make freedom real for millions living in slavery around the world. This week, Annick Febrey and I had the privilege of delivering your letters—an 18-inch-thick pile!
On Monday, we walked up the dozens of steps that take you to the historic and beautiful Old Executive Office Building. Once you get through the multiple security checkpoints, the President’s staff that work there are very accessible. We had the opportunity to meet with two staff from the National Security Council, including Stephen Pomper, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, and his deputy, Jonathan Lee.
Your letters helped open the door for a substantive conversation with this top official about our request that the U.S. lead in the fight against slavery, specifically by investing in anti-slavery models that work. I stressed the strong, bipartisan support that exists in Congress and throughout the country for robust anti-slavery policies, and reinforced the importance of maintaining the independence and integrity of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Now, Stephen will pass your message along to the President.
Delivering the letter to President Obama that you signed was a welcome reminder to me that our government, even at the highest level, is accessible to its citizens. Your voices do make a difference. We were glad to have a chance to tell Stephen that IJM’s friends around the U.S. stood with us in appealing for policies to rid the world of modern-day slavery.
You were all there with us in spirit! We can’t thank you enough for your support.
I hope you’ll consider taking the next step in your journey as an advocate—Join me, IJM President Gary Haugen and advocates from around the country at our upcoming Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC, on June 10-11!
