As many may be hesitant to write a letter to their Representative, either because they may be busy, or because they have not written to Congress before, Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy (EACA) has produced a series of sample letters that can be freely used as is, adapted, or modified as needed. Please feel free to make use of these sample letters as desired, and please write your representative now to make HR 5680 happen! Please find here the first set of sample letters, one version for a “liberal” and one for a “conservative” congressperson (
).
Here are some answers to key questions:
Whom should I write to?
It’s easy to find out who is the Congressperson that represents your constituency: go to www.house.gov , and in the first box enter your 5-digit zip code, then click on “Go”. This will give you a link to your representative’s website.
How do I know whether (s)he is liberal or conservative?
Firstly, the above mentioned link will indicate whether the representative is republican (R) or democratic (D). Secondly, when you go to his/her website, there will usually be a link called “Issues” or “Issues and Views”. Going there, you can discern his/her views on the topics that relate (or are perceived to be related) to HR 5680, e.g.: Human rights, International Affairs, War on terror and national security, etc.
It would be most convenient for me to sent my letter online. Can I do that?
Yes! Go to www.house.gov/writerep , choose your state, enter your 5-digit zip code, and click on “Contact My Representative”. You will see both an online form into which you can paste your letter, as well as a postal mail address for the representative if you prefer to mail out the letter by post.
Please note: If you are sending the letter online, you may not be able to attach documentation. However, you can provide links to international media articles that pertain to the repression in Ethiopia. Such links may be found by identifying appropriate articles from Ethioindex. EACA is in the process of compiling the most compelling and relevant international documents and articles that are in the public sphere. This task is not yet completed, but once it is, the compilation will be made available on the web for anyone to use).
Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy
EACAdvocacy@gmail.com
