Assyrian Rights interviews Robel Malki, President, Assyrian Without Borders (AWB). Please describe AWB: when was it established, by whom, and what is the objective or statement of purpose for the organization? AWB was founded in 2007 by young Assyrians from Sweden who had traveled to Tur Abdin, South-Eastern Turkey, to visit their home land. For many, that trip was their first to the land of their ancestors. Most participants were surprised by the low living standards of their fellow men. For some of them this trip became a turning point in their lives and the beginning of Assyrians Without Borders. When they came back to Sweden they decided that something needed to be done, and this time, it was to be done properly. They applied for membership in SFI, a Swedish foundation that controls Swedish humanitarian organisations to make sure that every penny that is donated to the organisation is well spent. This means that our activities are closely watched and that our donors know that their donations actually reach the target group. AWB is the one humanitarian organisation in Europe with Assyrians as a target group which is being scrutinized by an official national institution. This implies that AWB is an organisation to be trusted, but also an organisation that is professional, which follows Swedish organisational standards and above all which is devoted to its cause. Our overall aim is to help Assyrians in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran to help themselves. By Assyrians we mean all churches included, Syriac, East-Assyrian and Chaldean. By self-help, we mean implementing long term sustainable projects that aim at helping the target group improve its own standard of living. We implement long-term sustainable projects such as infrastructural ones like the construction of water tanks, the reparation of water channels or the installation of generators. We also put much emphasis on education by supporting schools and facilitating access to them. We grant scholarships to Assyrian university students two times a year (once every semester). We implement emergency relief, mostly for refugees, trough the distribution of life necessities such as food, baby diapers or medicine. Last year, we distributed wheelchairs to disabled refugees in Damascus. We work both directly with the target group, through village schools and with the students that apply for scholarships and with partner organisations located in the area. Part of our work is also to raise public opinion about Assyrians' situation. Everyone that works for AWB is a volunteer. What are the current projects of the AWB? Our latest project was the financing of a school bus which now safely drives Assyrian children to Assyrian schools in the governorate of Duhok, northern Iraq. In total, 85 Assyrian students, living in the remote villages of Koregavana, Bagere and Romta, now travel safely to Akkad Basic School and Nasebin High School, where they can practice their native language freely and where tuition is in Assyrian. We also granted 6 students from Iraq and Syria scholarships of 600