Congressmen visit Kashmiri exhibit

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Nick Lampson were among the distinguised guests at the recent exhibit on Kashmiri suffering that took place in Houston recently. French journalist Francois Gautier, a veteran reporter who has been covering South Asia for years now, was motivated by the juxtaposition of the beauty of the land and the ugliness of the violence that he saw to establish The Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism, an organisation that has successfully travelled the United States and the United Kingdom with provocative exhibits and information sessions on the horrors of terrorism.

Jackson Lee has been the representative for the 18th Congressional District of Texas since its recent inception, and has been in the U.S. Congress since 1994. The eighteenth district has a huge population of desis, which is reflected in many of her Congressional actions. Indeed, Jackson Lee is the co-chair of the House Pakistan Caucus, and has made many a trip to both India and Pakistan to surveille the conditionst there.

Lampson has been representing southeast Texas for just about thirty years now. He is currently seeking election in the twenty-second congressional district of Texas, hoping to unseat Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Both Congressman Lampson's and Congresswoman Lee's presence at the exhibit showing the painful story of the exodus of Kashmiri pandits has helped bring awareness to the necessity of an immediate, peaceful reconciliation of the Kashmir problem. It also shows that both Representatives are truly responsive to the needs of their constituency, and not just paying lip service.

Dheeraj