Harmeet Sooden

The Railway Campus

26-48 Te Taou Crescent

Auckland Central

New Zealand 1001

 

19^th April, 2005

 

Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society

The Bund

Amira Kadal

Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir, 190001

 

Dear friends,

 

When I imagine Kashmir, I remember a family that was decimated in 1947; a family, which was torn asunder by the policies of regional powers, a greater part resigned to refugee camps or scattered throughout the world. This is a family that continues to lose members to the recent conflict, a people denied basic rights and freedoms, robbed of dignity, stripped of identity. I am describing the history of one of the more fortunate Kashmiri families: my fractured family. We now have an opportunity to converge in solidarity with all Kashmiris on April 20th, 2005.

 

Kashmir Solidarity Day is more than a commemoration of those who have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of justice. It is a manifestation of the hopes of these martyrs. It is part of the struggle so that there will be future generations of the Kashmiri people.

 

Yours sincerely,

Harmeet Sooden