PAAIA Conducts Survey of Iranian Students Facing Financial Hardship

Iranian Students in Need – Financial Hardship Survey

Due to the recent devaluation of Iran’s currency, PAAIA has received reports that Iranian students at U.S. colleges and universities on F-1 visas have been experiencing financial distress and hardship. While many Iranian students rely on scholarships and research/teaching assistantships, some continue to pay out of pocket for expenses. Many of these students are dependent on the financial support of their families in Iran.

PAAIA has developed a survey that aims to gather information on the extent of the hardship and how it is impacting students. While on-line surveys are not scientific, the results mayassist us in determining what steps we could potentially take to help them. We ask that you share this survey with those you know who are on F-1 visas, and ask them to complete it.

This online survey is only intended for student visa holders from Iran.

Click here to read more.

Summer Capitol Hill Internship Program Deadline Approaching

February 4, 2013, Washington,D.C. – The application process for the summer Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP) is officially open, and applications will continue to be accepted until March 29, 2013. CHIP aims to promote increased civic participation by young Iranian Americans, has been a great success since its initial launch in 2012. We have, in the past year, had five exceptional Iranian Americans work in various Congressional offices in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

The CHIP program offers college students or recent graduates of Iranian descent the unique opportunity to get a firsthand look at our nation’s legislative and political process. In conjunction with congressional offices in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, applicants who are accepted will spend approximately 6-8 weeks during the summer living and working in the nation’s capital.

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A Letter from Golestan

Please join us in securing the future of Persian immersion language education in the US.

Golestan is a nonprofit Persian language immersion school for children in Northern California. Our mission is to promote a strong sense of cultural identity through daily immersion in the Persian language as well as Persian artsand traditions. Speaking exclusively in Persian, Golestan’s teachers employ a hybrid, progressive curriculum to nurture and promote good citizenship in children. Golestan’s rich and unique program has created a buzz in the Bay Area and in Persian communities around the country, and is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the Bay Area Iranian American community’s accomplishments.

We currently find ourselves at a major crossroads. Click here to read more.

PAAIA Conducts Fifth Nationwide Survey of Iranian Americans

January 29, 2013, Washington, D.C. – The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) announced today that it has commissioned George Mason University to conduct its fifth nationwide scientific survey of Iranian Americans. The survey, results of which will be released next month, is aimed at gathering accurate demographic and attitudinal information about the Iranian American community, and helps PAAIA to fulfill its primary missions: community, image, and influence building.

PAAIA’s previous survey, conducted in 2012 by Zogby Research Services, examined the attitudes and views of Iranian Americans towards possible U.S. or Israeli military action against Iran’s nuclear sites or other facilities as well as their concerns on how such hostilities with Iran may impact their lives in America. In addition to touching on these issues, the 2013 survey will, among other things, explore Iranian Americans’ links to Iran, ask what issues are most important to them, and gauge their views on President Obama’s handling of Iran.

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Congressman Wolf Calls for Immediate Release of Iranian American Pastor

January 29, 2012, Washington, D.C. – On January 28, 2013, Congressman Frank Wolf (R-10^th/VA) spoke out against the recent sentencing of an Iranian American pastor in Iran and repeated the need to provide for the establishment of a Special Envoy at the State Department to promote religious freedom in the Near East and South Central Asia.

Pastor Saeed Abedini, a 32-year-old Iranian American who lives with his wife and two young children in the U.S., has been imprisoned in Iran since September 2012. According to media reports, he was sentenced on Sunday to eight years in prison for threatening Iran’s national security through his leadership in Christian house churches.

“The news out of Iran of the ‘trial’ and conviction of Iranian-born American pastor Saeed Abedini is deeply troubling,” said Wolf in a press release issued by his office. “His sentence to serve 8 years in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison is a travesty of justice…President Obama should personally speak out and press for Pastor Abedini’s immediate and unconditional release.”

Read more here.

PAAIA Members Host Reception in Support of Amir Omar for Mayor

January 28, 2013, Washington, D.C. – On January 24, 2013, PAAIA members and friends gathered to support the election of Councilman Amir Omar for mayor of Richardson, Texas. The event was organized by the Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), the connected PAC of PAAIA, and held at the home of Mr. Robert Babayi.

A first generation American of Iranian and Palestinian descent, Omar was raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. He attended Texas A&M University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Omar has been involved in the telecommunications field for over 12 years and is finishing his Masters in Business Administration at the University of Texas at Dallas.

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