i
Farrakhan's 50-nation Friendship
Tour to include Iraq, Kuwait, Israel
Special to the NNPA
From the Final Call
r WASHINGTON, DC. ? Black
America's most controversial and
popular Muslim was given a warm
. send-off Nov. 28 during a rally/press
conference at Union Temple Baptist
? Church, where some 3,000 Muslims,
Christians, black nationalists and
. leaders of organizations came to
wish him well as he embarks on a
50-nation World Friendship Tour.
? At the celebration, Farrakhan dis
cussed his Third World Friendship
Tour and the reasons for it. It is time
for blacks in America to get involved
in "international affairs," to lead a
world gone off course back to peace,
? he said.
Blacks in the United States, the
| descendants of slaves, must under
; stand that they are an international
i people, he told the crowd. "It's no
! accident that we live in America ...
; that your fathers were brought here
? in the holds of ships," he said.
! Most of the minister's 90-minute
| lecture was spent detailing his hopes
' that the tour would help bring peace
i to a world engulfed in conflict and
*! yield trade, cultural and intellectual
! relationships for the black communi
ty.
Farrakhan detailed plans to visit
! Israel, where a peace deal brokered
by the United States, Egypt and
' Jordan three years ago has nearly
! dissolved and violence between
; Palestinians and Jews has escalated.
."That area is so critical to world
peace that if war breaks out there, it
J may bring the whole earth into the
J war which is called Armageddon,"
the minister warned.
Other tour stops include Iran (for
; an Islamic conference), Iraq, Kuwait,
? the United Arab Emirates, Saudi
! Arabia, Syria, Israel, Palestine,
China, Malaysia, Singapore, 20
J countries in Africa, Libya, North and
i South Korea, the former Soviet
j Union and nations in the South
1 Pacific, the Caribbean and South
? America.
"I would like to demonstrate how
! diplomacy and friendly relations
i should be carried out," Min.
: Farrakhan said, explaining how the
' United States and other world ?ov
emments have strayed from the path
to peace.
According to the Muslim minis
ter, the U.S. government is making
"a grave mistake" in its dealing with
Iraq and the Arab and Muslim world.
Increasingly bad U.S. foreign policy
toward Muslim nations, namely Iraq
and Libya, could bring "grave conse
quences" to the United States," he
said.
The Minister also pointed out the
double standard employed by the
United States in dealing with Arab
governments compared to European
governments.
"The Cold War is over, so
America wants to help Russia,"
Farrakhan noted. "The war with Iraq
has been over nearly seven years, and
seven years after the war is over,
nearly a million and a half Iraqis
have died," but no help has come
from the United States, he said
"The war has continued in the
name of sanctions. What's the prob
lem, America? ... 'Well we have a
mad man over there, Saddam
Hussein, and he is making weapons
of mass destruction.'".
The Iraqi president "can hide
weapons for seven years, but he can't
even fix an incubator in a hospital?"
asked Farrakhan
"When it becomes policy to
destroy, the American people's
minds are prepared so that you can
go along with the policy They want
Saddam Hussein dead, so they start
ed the media campaign. Now, some
of them are getting on the television
openly calling for the man's assassi
nation," he told the audience.
"1 don't know' who's advising the
president, but he needs better adv ice.
I'm not lobbying for the- job,"
Farrakhan said. "But you know
sometimes God raises from the
abject someone to give the powerful
and the great wise guidance. It seems
to me that ... America needs over
hauling."
The press conference/rally was
the spark that ignited a flurry of
media events for the fast moving
Muslim leader, whose grueling
schedule over the last two years has
included two legs of his World
Friendship Tours ? one to Africa -
and the Middle East, the other to the
Caribbean.
Earlier that day he appeared on
CNN's news program "Evans and
Novak." The Minister discussed his
desire to bring peace among
Muslims in the Middle East, destroy
the idea of terrorism against innocent
life and to see Israel halt construction
of settlements in the Occupied
Territories.
He said that even, time America
misuses her tremendous power, she
loses influence among Muslims and
her allies. And concerning America's
demand for a trial in the United
States or Britain instead of a neutral
country of the Libyans accused of
the Pan Am 103 bombing over
Lockerbie. Scotland, Farrakhan said:
"America uses her influence to
impose sanctions ...over an incident
they haven't proved is entirely cor
rect We ought to go to trial some
where to find where the truth lies."
The Muslim leader was also
questioned on Fox television's "The
Tony Snow Show." Farrakhan said he
hopes President Clinton and his
advisers would see the failure of
policies toward Saddam Hussein and
immediately end the sanctions on
Iraq.
"Let's sit down and talk to
Saddam Hussein, leader-to-leader,
human being to human being. And I
do believe he wants a better relation
ship with America, and 1 hope when
I go to Iraq that J will be able to
report to American people that here
is a man that is ready to sit down to
talk with the American administra
tion and come to terms with the dis
agreements with America," he said.
Farrakhan also dispatched Nation
of Islam attorneys Ministers Ava
Muhammad and Arif Muhammad to
the State Department for a briefing
with Secretary of State Madeline
Albright in response to a suggestion
by U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations Bill Richardson on televi
sion news show "Meet the Press."
Ministers Benjamin Mohammad and
Kevin Muhammad in New York were
dispatched to the United Nations to
seek a meeting with Richardson.
Representatives of various
groups and organizations attending
the send-off hailed Farrakhan's
World Friendship tour.
Ahmed Al-Kaissiy of the Iraqi
diplomatic mission, told The Final
Call that if anyone could bring peace
to the world, even in Iraq, it is
Farrakhan.
"The Iraqi people thank Minister
Farrakhan for what he is doing at the
present time to uplift these unjust
economic sanctions against Iraq. He
has the highest voice in the world
these days, and can reach the whole
world," A1 Kaissiy said.
"It is important for us to send
Minister Farrakhan off on this very
important mission," said Maryland
state Sen. Clarence Mitchell IV, who
hoped the trip would solidify eco
nomic linkages for black America
with Africa and China.
\ "Baltimore has the largest open
water port on the East Coast. We can
make use of that with linkages with
African and Asian nations, but we're
not doing that right now. I'm hoping
that Minister Farrakhan can build
that bridge," Mitchell said.
During his tour, Farrakhan plans
to answer an invitation extended by
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
and Sheik Mohammed Al-Jamal Ar
Rifhi, the resident imam at Al-Asqa
Mosque in Jerusalem. The minister
was invited to visit and pray at the
mosque, the third holiest shrine in
Islam.
While in Israel, the minister
would like to meet with the
Palestinian Authority and the Israeli
government. "I know there will be
some who'll say 'don't give him an
ear,' but I will only offer to come," he
said.
But Farrakhan stressed that the
role of peacemaker is not his alone.
"God is raising you (black
Americans) up to play an important
role in world affairs," he said.
"You are chosen of God really to
bring about complete change in this
country. You are the soul of it. You
have soul to give America a sense of
balance now that she's imbalanced
by her own power, wealth and cor
ruption. God is raising you up, you
are no longer the old plantation boy
or girl that you were," he said.
Businesses, parents
collaborate to improve
public education
The Greater Winston
Salem Chamber of Commerce
has announced a significant
collaboration of private and
public sector participants in
an effort to encourage more
effective parental involvement
in children's education
process.
The Chamber is partner
ing with Wachovia Bank,
James Fyock 4k Associates,
Ingram Art and the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools to produce three
workshops, which will air on
local Cable Channel 2, the
School Channel. Videotapes
will also be available to local
organizations, at cost, for use
with parent groups.
The workshops, "Recipes
for Success ? Parental
Involvement in Children's
Education," focus on sharing
practical ideas with parents on
how to be proactively involved
in Iheir children's education
process to ensure the highest
quality education possible. ,
Research shows that an essen- (
tial component of a child's _
education process is the active
involvement of parents and
other significant caregivers.
Fred Nordenholz, presi
dent of the Chamber, said,
"We continue to be impressed
by local businesses' willing
ness to support this series and
the many other educational
initiatives developed by the
Chamber and school system
in recent years.
"The local business com
munity has shown a strong
and growing commitment to
increasing the quality of edu
cation in Forsyth County. We
believe this will help to
enhance the long-term quality
of the work force in Forsyth '?
County."
The workshops were held ,
at the Wachovia Center in
November and will be aired in
January. About 150 people
participated. ,
s
J
1
Satellites and space probes
discussed at WSSU workshop
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration Education
specialist Lawrence J. Gilbert of
Langley Research Center
Education Division, Hampton,
Va., conducted an aerospace
teacher enhancement workshop
and a science lecture/demonstra
tion at Winston-Salem State
University and the Shilohian St.
Peter's Child Care Center.
Parents, students and teachers
participated in a training session
with an informative hands-on
approach to critical thinking and
problem solving that will reinforce
the relevance and broad applica
tion of science, mathematics and
technology. Instructional materi
als and strategies that reflect the
needs and resources of the 21st
century were provided.
The four sessions included
teacher training and training of
parents, as well as middle grade
students of Quality Education
Institute and the K-5-year-olds of
K-3 level at the Shilohian-St.
Peter's Child Care Center. The
program presented an overview of
satellites and planetary probes, the
space shuttle and space labs, and
aeronautics research and develop
ment with an emphasis on current
and future projects and careers.
The following persons received
certification credits: Elvin
Rosdhal, Margaret Poston.
Shannon Kimel. Shirley
Manigault, Tracey McFadden.
Cynthia Russell, James Lewis,
Aston King, Dr. Manderline
Scales, Jermell Barringer, Robin
Johnson, Orlando Kilgore,
Tamika Price, Johnetta Brown,
Sharon Frazier, Damiko Faulkner,
fNaKendra Magee and Monica
McNeill.
The sponsors of the program
are Dr. Manderline Scales of the
Classroom of the Future National
Advisory Committee and Dr.
Shirley Manigault, chairwoman of
the English and Foreign Language
departments at Winston-Salem
State University.
North Carolina's Child Nutrition Programs
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