Support the Independet Taxi Drivers in Dallas, Texas

Dallas-area Independent Taxi Drivers Rights' Advocate Group Founded in December 2010 in Dallas, Texas.
E-mail yehar9@aol.com/Phone # 214-642-0394

International Petition
February 17, 2011.

Target: The Honorable Barack Obama, The President of the United States of America, Governor Rick Perry of Texas, Reverend and Doctor Joseph Lowery, President Clinton, SCLC Atlanta, Rev. Shannon D. Little, Jr (SCLC Dallas) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kim-moon, Rev. Al Sharpton human rights leader, John Wiley Price Dallas County Commissioner, United Nations Secretary-General, U.S. Congress, Congressional Black Caucuses, Representative Barbara Caraway, Texas, Commissioner John Wily Price (Dallas). Diplomats' community in Washington D.C. U.S. Congress, States Department, First lady Micheal Obama.

Yeharerwerk Gashaw, humanitarian, and the first Ethiopian international model and actress, is leading an international campaign to gain support for the helpless, independent taxi drivers in her home city of Dallas, Texas. Her humanitarian involvement includes her travels with the honorable Nelson Mandela in the year of 1990 as a Pan-African human rights' activist, through which she also met with other world leaders and discussed resolutions to various human rights' causes.

We, the undersigned and peace loving global and international humanitarian/human rights activists of the city of Dallas, Texas, along with the independent taxi drivers’ family, are requesting your support and intervention in the issue of the Dallas area independent taxi drivers who are currently being unfairly treated and forgotten by the Mayor of Dallas, Tom Leppert, and the government of the city of Dallas.

We ask for your support and enforcement of the following nine-point proposal, which has already submitted to the Dallas city mayor and council-members, (as of January 4, 2011) who have failed to adequately respond or take any action in response. We have tried to voice our concerns to Mayor Leppert, yet our please remain ignored. The citizens being hurt by the laws put into place concerning taxicab regulations are those who are independent taxi drivers about 2,300, behind each driver a family of five. And small taxi business owners, majority of them U.S. naturalized citizens who originate from other countries as refugees.

These forgotten citizens came to this country for political freedom, and to build their businesses and experience the “American dream”. Thus, this case is no longer a local issue, but now an international one. America is known for its intercession in supporting democratic demand; therefore, we are asking for the support of the President of the United States and all democratic leaders of the world community to help us to be heard.

For your information, small taxi businesses are the major provider of the cab services to the Dallas area. Please help the independent taxi drivers and their families stand up against an unreasonable special interest policy pushed through city council by lobbyists for the Yellow Cab and the compressed natural gas industry (CNG), which is causing the loss of hundreds of independent taxicab drivers' livelihoods, homes, and shutting the door on all other forms of clean fuel.

The Yellow cab company was purposely given monopolized domination over the Dallas area cab industry by being granted the right to pick up customers ahead of all other cabs to due to their driving of cabs powered by CNG, which only the Yellow Cab company and its allies have the funds and ability to purchase. Help to end the special interest CNG rule, and join us in instead supporting a transition phase from all current public transportation vehicles to those powered by various available environmental friendly fuels such as bio fuels and hydrogen, instead of strictly compressed natural gas.

Once again, these citizens moved to United States with the hopes of being able to run and own their own businesses with equal opportunity, but the numerous regulations currently placed on taxi businesses by Mayor Tom Leppert are causing these independent taxi businesses to suffer. The council members' decision to enforce CNG vehicles did not have these independent business owners in mind, and businesses without the means of attaining the pricey CNG vehicles are unable to compete with the bigger taxicab companies.

Some of these business owners are already out of business, and have no means of supporting their families, their wives and children suffering along with them. Mr. President, some of these independent taxi drivers’ children are serving in the United States forces in the Middle East including Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of these taxi drivers, before the came to U.S, were former diplomats, military leaders, medical doctors, PhDs, teachers, instructors, and corporate owners, but aggressive and corrupt political rule drove them to move here, where they intended to be free to pursue the American dream and would have equal opportunity. Please help them to achieve their dream, and help us to reach a compromise regarding the conversion to environmental friendly fuels while keeping the independent taxicab business owners in mind.

Please note that the activists and the independent taxi drivers advocates clean energy and energy independence that needs not sacrifice values of fairness that are embodied in a first come first serve culture. Drivers at Dallas Love Filed Airport are going out of business.