Letter to President Obama - Steve Umemoto

18 Southbury

London NW8 0RY, UK

November 14, 2016

President Barak Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

U.S.A

Dear President Obama,

Forty nine years ago, as a young recruit in UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund), I met in Bangkok, a young Iranian civil servant. We were together in a regional seminar focussed on bringing the needs of children into national development plans. From the beginning I was struck with Baquer Namazi’s commitment to the needs of the poor and particularly to children living in poverty.

Over the intervening five decades while I served with UNICEF across Asia (including Indonesia in the early 1970s), Baquer also served UNICEF in Asia, rejoined his government’s service and then following the revolution in his country, re-joined UNICEF. He served with distinction, but more importantly with great heart, in UNICEF Headquarters, and as head of UNICEF missions in Somalia, Kenya and Egypt. Baquer advocated policies and crafted programmes to serve some of the most disadvantaged children and families in the world. He was also a champion within UNICEF and across Africa for enhancing the rights of children. When he and his party were attacked by terrorists in upper Egypt with loss of life, he comforted families and surviving staff with great compassion and helped them re-dedicate themselves to the mission of UNICEF .

Even in retirement from UNICEF since 1996, Baquer continued advocating for support to children caught up in situations of armed conflict. Baquer throughout his life has been a great humanitarian … a great American humanitarian, as he acquired U.S. citizenship in the 1980s.

The fact that Baquer at the age of 80 and in fragile health is now in prison in Iran, tears at my heart. All of us who have known and worked with him over decades know that he has not a political bone in his body … only a soul truly caring for the least advantaged around the world.

I hope and pray that sometime in the closing days of your great administration you may be able to speak out for freedom for Baquer, and perhaps ask Mr. Trump to do all he can to bring about freedom for Baquer Namazi.

Stephen H Umemoto

(Lakewood, Colorado & London, UK)