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OPA News Release: [10/27/2003]
Contact Name: Ed
Frank
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and Three Newly
Appointed Women Iraqi Labor Officials Tour Minneapolis Workforce Center
Stable Democracy Created Through Jobs and Job
Training
Minneapolis, Minn.—U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao and
three new senior women officials in Iraq’s Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs toured the Minneapolis-Minnesota Workforce Center today. Over the past
week, the U.S. Department of Labor has hosted Sawsan Mahdi Al-Dawad, Fatin Ouda
Al-Saeda and Evelyn Michael Rasho for a series of meetings, briefings and tours
of American job-placement and job-training sites. The three Iraqi women met
with Secretary Chao and a variety of Labor Department officials, congressional
leaders and community leaders, all as part of a fact finding mission on job
creation and job training that could be applicable in Iraq, which will
ultimately lead to a more stable and secure region.
“These women stepped forward at great personal risk to themselves
after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime and asked to help rebuild their
country,” stated U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “They aspire
for a democratic Iraq, at peace with its neighbors, and they are seeking ways
to help get their people back to work. They are part of the new, pro-democratic
leadership that understands—as we do—the importance of a steady
employment situation in building a stable democracy in Iraq.”
After senior Ba’ath Party officials were dismissed in May, these
three, non-Ba’athist women approached the Coalition Provisional Authority
(CPA) and shared their strong support for democracy and for rebuilding the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Exhibiting a fundamental knowledge of
employment and training administration, they were given the responsibility of
creating a new, national employment and training initiative to be administered
by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy Chris Spear, who also
attended today’s tour, spent several months earlier this year in Iraq as a
senior advisor to that nation’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, is
the primary liaison between the Iraqi women and American officials. In Iraq,
Spear worked with local Iraqi officials to advance the training and employment
of Iraqi citizens. He also assisted with such diverse issues as the
country’s prison system and housing for disabled, elderly, and orphaned
Iraqis.
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