Posted on 04/28/2004 7:22:11 AM PDT by Durtrider
Chief, council honor Cherokee citizen killed in Iraq By Will Chavez Staff Writer TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Fern Holland, a Cherokee citizen who was killed in Iraq on March 9, was honored by the Tribal Council during its meeting March 15.
A resolution honoring her was approved by the council and read by Principal Chief Chad Smith.
"Fern Leona Holland understood that she was at great risk because of her work, but expressed to her family that she loved the work she was doing and that many Iraqi women were depending upon her.
"(She) was assassinated in Iraq because of her work and she died as a warrior fighting for her beliefs and seeking to improve the lives of others. Therefore be it resolved by the Cherokee Nation that Fern L. Holland is hereby honored and recognized for her courageous commitment to human rights and for having sacrificed her life in the service of others," the chief read.
Holland, 33, grew up in the Miami and Bluejacket areas of Oklahoma and went to Iraq in May 2003 as an employee of the Defense Department just after the major fighting in the country ceased. Working for the Coalition Provisional Authority she documented human rights violations and helped preserve evidence for potential war crimes tribunals. Published reports said she was known as a strong advocate for Iraqi women’s rights and drafted language in the new Iraqi constitution for the coalition government that protected women’s rights and guaranteed women a position within that government, which made her a target for Iraqi extremists who opposed such roles for women.
She and another civilian worker, Robert J. Zangas, of suburban Pittsburgh, were the first U.S. civilians from the occupation authority to be killed in Iraq. On March 9, in Hillah, about 35 miles south of Baghdad, gunmen stopped their car at a roadblock and shot them to death along with their Iraqi translator. The Polish military, who is responsible for policing that part of the country, later apprehended six Iraqi men riding in the victims’ car and discovered that four carried cards that identified them as police, officials said. Reports also said the bodies of the three victims were still hidden inside the vehicle when it was stopped.
Upon the request of Paul Bremer, the top administrator in Iraq, the FBI is investigating the slayings of the Americans.
Holland graduated from the University of Oklahoma with honors in 1992 and from the University of Tulsa School of Law with honors in 1996. She worked at the law firm of Connor & Winters in Tulsa, but left the firm to commit her life to public service, first within the Peace Corps. In Namibia she provided HIV education and training, organized legal education targeting women’s and children’s rights, taught English and computer skills, solicited computers for West African school children and organized legal aid clinics for women and children refugees in West Africa.
A memorial service for Holland was held March 19 in Tulsa. Family survivors include two brothers, James Holland of Overland Park, Kan., and Joe Holland of Cleveland, Okla.; and two sisters Vi Holland and Mary Ann Dunn of Oklahoma City.
Friends and family members have organized a trust in her honor to promote human rights in Iraq and around the world. To donate, send checks to Fern L. Holland Trust, Suite 3700, 15 E. Fifth St., Tulsa, OK 74103.
That's the solution:):)
Yeah sure, as if Saddam wasn't punishment enough?
Well, the men will have a bigger "handfull" than worrying about Americans:):)
too cool!
I will put this to good use
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