January 2010

LOST's Jeff Fahey & USCRI's Lavinia Limon return from Morocco, urge end to refugees' plight in Algeria

In this issue . . .

"It's time for us to help these refugees-it breaks my heart every time I go back," said Jeff Fahey, LOST cast member and international rights advocate, returning from a trip to Morocco in early January on which he was joined by Lavinia Limon, President of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), to meet with escaped Sahrawi refugees who have endured three decades of confinement in desert camps in Tindouf, Algeria.

Fahey and Limon discussed the trip and two new reports on Sahrawi refugee rights last week in Washington, DC with journalists from The Washington Post, POLITICO, Associated Press, and the Maghreb Arab Press (see coverage below). The trip followed meetings on Capitol Hill on Oct. 27 where they advocated opening the Tindouf camps and urged Congress to end the practice of warehousing refugees, which has denied the rights of tens of thousands in Algeria and more than 8 million refugees worldwide.

Washington Post: "Talking with 'Lost's' Jeff Fahey"

Thursday, January 14, 2010

By Jen Chaney | Washington Post

Our recent interview with Jeff Fahey, the video portion of which we shared yesterday, was a reminder of that. In addition to starring in films like "Silverado" and "The Lawnmower Man" -- not to mention trying to figure out what lies in the shadow of the statue in his role on "Lost" -- Fahey has long devoted much of his time to assisting individuals and organizations in post-conflict areas, particularly Afghanistan. In more recent months, he has added another issue to his plate: the rights of Sahwari refugees forced to live for decades in camps in Algeria's Tindouf Province.

Fahey was in Washington this week, having just returned from a visit to Morocco to meet with aid workers and a few refugees who have escaped from the camps, which have existed since Spain withdrew from the Western Sahara in the mid-1970s. It's his fourth time visiting the region during the past six months. [...]

Fahey and Lavinia Limon-the president and CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, with whom Fahey has worked on this issue-say that the individuals living in the camps do not have the option to leave, even though the Moroccan government is willing to take in the refugees and provide assistance that will allow them to live and work in more suitable conditions. [Click here for more . . .]

For more information...

Click here to read USCRI's: "Stonewalling on Refugee Rights: Algeria and the Sahrawi"

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Click here to read IUCLS & MACP's "Group Rights & International Law: Case Study of the Sahrawi Refugees in Algeria"

Politico's CLICK: "'Lost' actor on W.H.'s SOTU decision (& Western Sahara)"

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

By Patrick Gavin | POLITICO

"Lost" fans breathed a huge sigh of relief when the White House recently reassured them that President Barack Obama would not hold his State of the Union address on Feb. 2, the night the hit ABC show is set to air its season premiere.
So, when "Lost" actor Jeff Fahey (aka "Frank Lapidus") swung through D.C. Tuesday, we had to get his thoughts on the show's intersection with the highest office in the land.
Fahey said when he heard of the White House's comments on the show's season premiere, "I thought, my God, how wild and absurd." [Click here for more . . .]

Maghreb Arab Press: "Situation in Tindouf camps is 'terrible', US NGO head says"

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Washington- President and CEO of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) described, here Tuesday, as "terrible" the life conditions prevailing in the Polisario-run camps of Tindouf, in SW Algeria, while calling for a "durable solution to this issue."
"We need a durable solution to address the difficult life conditions of the people living in these camps. A solution that either enables them to return home and enjoy the benefits of Moroccan citizenship or allows them to be relocated in a third country," Lavinia Limon told MAP. [Click here for more . . .]

Maghreb Arab Press: "US actor 'impressed' by development in Morocco's Southern provinces"

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Washington - "LOST" cast member and international advocate Jeff Fahey highlighted, here Tuesday, the "impressing" development achieved in Morocco's Southern provinces, the Sahara.

"I have gone around the world and seen areas but the development I have seen in the Sahara is just completely impressive," US actor Fahey told MAP, while commending the "healthy proud feeling prevailing in the region"

. [Click here for more . . .]

Associated Press: "'Lost' star reveal on 'Last Supper'photos"

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

'Lost' star Jeff Fahey reveals something about 'Last Supper' promo photos ABC's released ahead of the Feb. 2 season premiere of the final season-and talksabout his work to help refugees in Western Sahara. [Click here for more . . .]

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org

This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.