[IMC-Palestine] Death of Riad Hamad founder of the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund.

[frank barat]

Riad Hamad, dear friend to many of us, and director of the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund was found dead today, from an apparent suicide (duct tape on his mouth and hands were tied together). He was found in a lake in Austin, TX. You may remember that the FBI and IRS had raided his house a few months ago. The fight against them had been tough, and, he must have thought, impossible.

This note was circulated by Paul Larudee of the International Solidarity Movement:

From Paul Larudee:

Riad Hamad, 1952-2008

"Hi, Riad." I knew it was him from the caller ID, even though the phone had never been in his own name.
"Hey, Bolos. How you doin'?" He used the Arabic translation of my name.
"I'm good. How about you?"
"I'm OK." His voice didn't have the usual energy, but perhaps he was in a place where he couldn't speak loudly. "I sent you a couple of email messages."
"Yes, I saw them." The messages were about my role in helping with his charitable work on behalf of Palestinians. There were a few things I didn't understand about the messages, so Riad cleared them up for me. "Now it makes sense," I said.
"OK. Well, that's all I wanted to tell you." Typical Riad. Always in a hurry to get off the phone.
"Wait, I've got some good news!"
"Oh yeah? What is it?" He sounded surprised.
"We're finally getting donations here. A check for a thousand came in today." I had set up a nonprofit account to receive donations for Riad's work.
"Was it from __________?"
"Hang on a second."
"Well, it doesn't matter." Still anxious to get off the phone.
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? I've got the name right here. No, it's from ____________"W
"That's nice. Well, gotta go."
"OK. Take care of yourself."
"You, too, Boulos."

Those were apparently Riad's last words, spoken from his car near Ladybird Lake in Austin, Texas. At the time I had thought it slightly odd that Riad was repeating what he had already told me by email. I think he just wanted to hear a familiar voice. The police found the phone and car keys on the seat of the unlocked car. Typical Riad. He was thinking of the person who would find the car.

I wish I had told him that the person who sent the check had also written a letter thanking him for the gifts of handmade Palestinian crafts and other items that Riad had sent as a thankyou for a previous donation. He had also included handmade thankyou cards from his two young daughters. The older daughter, age 11 had written, "Live in peace on the world. Everybody should LOVE! I am sad because people should be nice to you, but they are not." The younger, age 8, had written, "I hope you start to live in peace."

I would have read them to him over the phone if he hadn't been so anxious to end the conversation, but I decided to send them for him to read later, and enjoy the children's drawings. The father's letter was longer and more specific in his praise for Riad's tireless efforts on behalf of Palestinians and their rights.

"I have included 2 checks for the needs of Palestinian children. It is my hope that you will use it to create hope for those oppressed. As we both see the dollar's value sink, the value of life especially in the eyes of the Creator never loses value. I extend this help to you and these children as if they were my own. We have the misfortune in living in very dark times, but in that darkness hope, love, and peace shine like the sun. To those that plant hope, they shall harvest peace."

Harvest peace, Riad.

SHUKRAN for your work and support
Salamat

Paul Larudee
Treasurer and Grants Administrator
The Palestine Children's Welfare Fund

Riad's legacy, the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund lives on, providing food, medicine, jobs and education to Palestinians and their children. Tax-exempt donations may be made to:

PCWF
405 Vista Heights Road
El Cerrito, CA 94530

 
More info on the FBI visit to his place below
 
On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 27, award-winning schoolteacher Riad Hamad, founder of the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund (PCWF) was getting ready to leave for work when the doorbell rang in his modest apartment in Austin, Texas. It was a dozen FBI and IRS agents bearing a search warrant from Judge Robert Pittman, known for his hostility to Palestinians and Arabs, with whom Riad had had previous experience.

For most of the day, the agents searched every nook and cranny of the apartment, then left with more than forty boxes of papers, files, computers and CDs. No charges were filed at the time against Riad and he was not arrested, but the investigators said they had probable cause to investigate wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

PCWF thus joins the Middle East Children's Alliance, Kinder USA and Holy Land Foundation - all dedicated to helping Palestinian children as a major part of their work - as objects of investigations that have damaged the functioning of their mission. In no case were these organizations found guilty of wrongdoing, and at most some people with Kinder USA were pressured into minor pleas in order to avoid costly court proceedings.

It is not a coincidence that Riad and PCWF have been targeted. PCWF has been associated with all these organizations, and it is reasonable to assume that when investigations turned up nothing there, they used the references to PCWF to go fishing. Riad has been expecting this for 37 years but refuses to be intimidated, and insists upon exercising his full right to defend Palestinian rights - and his own - in America.

How about you?

Riad lives off his modest schoolteacher salary and the proceeds from PCWF have only benefited thousands of Palestinians with jobs, food, medicine, books, hospital equipment and other humanitarian needs. He cannot afford the costs of defending his legal rights. Will you help? All of us who care about Palestinian and human rights, including our own, have a stake in defending Riad's.

Here's what you can do:

1. Call or write your Congressional Representatives and tell them to find out why PCWF and other organizations that benefit Palestinian children are being targeted.

2. Help Riad wth his legal expenses by sending your donations to:

Riad Hamad Legal Support Fund
405 Vista Heights Road
El Cerrito, CA 94530
510-236-5338

Further information will be posted as it becomes available at Riad Hamad's weblog, http://blog.myslantedview.org/









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