FECC Gala

Dear EAS Members and Friends,

Friends of Egyptian Children with Cancer (FECC) is a nonprofit organizationwhich raises money to help treating Children with Cancer in Egypt. Attached is an invite for the FECC main fund raising event for the year. This year, it will be on the 5^th of February. We encourage you to be part and participate in the fundraising efforts. The children with Cancer in Egypt need your help.

May God bless you and reward your good deeds.

Many thanks

A Message from EAS President

To all my brothers and sisters from the Egyptian Amerian community who celebrated christmas, merry christmas and may you have a blessed year ahead of you.

I would also like to offer my deepest and heartfelt condolence to the community for the savage act that happened in Alexandria several weeks ago. Attacks like that are an affront to every single one of us who take pride in our Egyptian culture and heritage. We stand together in savage acts like this with unified condemnation as this is an attack on all of us as Egyptians.

Thanks, and God bless all of you.

Sherif Zaafran
President, Egyptian American Society

Egyptian National ID

Fellow EAS members:

Below is a message from our Consul General, Mr. Alaa Issa, regarding the ability to obtain or renew an Egyptian National ID card. This can be done from Feb 2-6th. Please read below the message from the consul with more detailed information on the process needed to obtain this document.

Thanks,

Sherif Zaafran, MD
President, Egyptian American Society

Dear Friends and fellow Egyptians,

Greetings to one and all. I hope that 2011 will be better year for all of us and our loved ones and our country. Let us pray and hope for that goal, as human beings and Egyptians first and foremost.

My name is Alaa Issa. I am the Consul General of Egypt in Houston, TX. Since I arrived here in September 2010, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of
you but unfortunately not all.

I am writing regarding a matter that may be of interest to a number of you, namely the need to obtain or renew or replace the National ID card for Egyptian Citizens (Rakam Kawmi).

For those of you who are unaware of this issue, it is in brief, the new system implemented in Egypt since 1997 whereby every Egyptian citizen is issued a National ID number (similar to the Social Security Number in the USA). Egyptian citizens above the age of 16 years are issued a National Identity Card containing their picture, vital information and, most important, a unique National ID number for each individual. This number functions in a manner similar to the Social Security number in the USA. It has become essential to conduct any transaction in Egypt (apply for a bank loan, purchase a new car, apply for a credit card, buy or sell or register property, file a police report, issue a power of attorney to your lawyer or relative in order to execute any business on you behalf, request any document from Government offices or Egyptian Consulates abroad such as
passports, marriage certificates or birth certificates................).

National ID cards are issued to citizens 16 years and older and must be renewed every 7 years. Once created, your unique National ID number does not change - it stays with you for life. Citizens have only to renew their National ID cards every 7 years, which affords them a chance to indicate any change in occupation, social status (married. divorced, widowed....) or other pertinent information.

A Committee / Task Force from the Civil Affairs Authority of the Egyptian Government will be visiting the Consulate General of Egypt in Houston from 2-6 February 2011 with the objective of issuing or renewing National ID cards for Egyptian citizens residing in the USA (they will be visiting the Egyptian Consulates in New York and Washington D.C. before coming to Houston to transact for Egyptian citizens in the Northeast).

A detailed circular is attached in both PDF and WORD formats. It contains all the necessary information for Egyptian citizens wishing to get a National ID card for the first time or to renew cards that were issued more than 7 years ago or to replace cards that were lost or stolen.

Please read it carefully. Should you have any questions, you may contact the Consulate General of Egypt in Houston via this email or by telephone from 09:00 -11:00 am Monday to Friday (this email will cease to function on 7 February 2011 - it is created exclusively for the National ID Task Force ).

I would like to stress the following issues which are outlined in detail in the attached circular:

1. It is essential that any interested individuals come to the Consulate's premises in Houston in person. National ID cards carry a digital photograph of the bearer, similar to a driver's license, and individuals must be photographed at the Consular
premises.
2. You may need to get some certificates notarized at a Notary Public beforehand . You may also need to have some documents translated and certified at the Consulate when you come in before you submit you application for a National ID Card. So please, please read the circulars carefully and plan your time accordingly.
3. There are NO appointments. This will be a walk-in service during the hours indicated - First Come First Served.
4. Ample parking has been arranged as indicted in the circulars and refreshments will be available.
5. This email address will be checked daily to respond to any queries - egyconsnationalid@gmail.com


Once again, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of you since my arrival in September 2010 but I sincerely look forward to meeting you all should you be coming to the Consulate during the period 2-6 February or at a later time.

Finally, PLEASE circulate this email and the attachments to any Egyptian citizen in any State in the USA whom you think may be remotely interested

Thank you,
Alaa Issa
Consul General
Consulate General of Egypt in Houston
5718 Westheimer Rd
Suite #
1350
Houston, TX
(713) 961-4915

November EAS gettogether - Cancelled

Dear EAS members and Friends,

We would like to extend our appreciation to those of you who RSVPed to the announcement of our function on Saturday November the 20th, at La Griglia. However, We regret to inform you that we had to cancel the function, as we did not receive the number of responses required to make the function feasible.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that the term of the current Board is drawing to a conclusion by the end of the year. We have sent out an invitation to submit nominations for positions in the new Board and hope to hear from you soon on that. the Society is looking to your active participation and input, so it can continue performing its function and role for the coming years as you envision it.

For additional information on the Society's mission, functions and the latest news (including the Call with Nominations for the Board),you can reply to this email with your question or you can check out our blog at http://easathouston.blogspot.com/ .

Thanking you,

EAS Board

November EAS gettogether - Additional Details

The Board of the EAS would like to extend its appreciation to those of you who promptly RSVPed as to your attendance of our coming function on Saturday, November 20th, at La Griglia.

However, in order to cover the cost of our function, we need to have 33 attendees which we have not met yet.

The deadline to inform the restaurant if we are going to have the dinner or not is Wednesday, November 17th, by 12:00 p.m.

If you plan to attend, kindly let us know by the 17th, before 12:00 p.m. If we do not have thirty three attendees by then, we will regretfully cancel the function.

Thank you for your cooperation.

EAS Board

November EAS gettogether - Additional Details

Date: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 2010

La Griglia Menu
Egyptian American Society

First Course
Eggplant Caponata
Roasted Eggplant Relish with Pine Nuts, Celery and Tomato

Second Course
Mista Salad
Field Greens with Feta Cheese, Tomatoes and Mushrooms in an Italian Vinaigrette

Entrée
Rigatoni Gamberoni
Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic and Herbs
OR
Pollo La Griglia
Grilled Breast of Chicken topped with Diced Tomatoes and Lemon-Pesto Sauce over Potato Puree

Dessert
Chocolate Mezzanotte
Our Signature Three Layer chocolate cake

This menu is inclusive of a choice of a soft drink or Ice tea
and coffee service.

WE WILL BE USING LA GRIGLIA'S BACK ROOM FOR THE FUNCTION.

Hope to see everyone there.

November EAS get-together‏‏

Dear Members and Friends of the EAS

Our function this month will be on Saturday, the 20^th at

La Griglia Restaurant
2002 West Gray, Houston, TX

The theme of the evening will be "Nostalgia Night," so please bring one picture (one per person) about old or modern Egypt that is special to you to share with us.

The cost of the dinner is $45.00 per person.

We have not had a function for three months, so we thought we could treat ourselves a little bit.

This function is for adults and children 12 years and older. If you have little ones, please make arrangements to leave them home and take the night off to join us.

Social hour and registration starts at 6:30 p.m.
The dinner and program start at 7:15 p.m.

Please RSVP, whether you are coming or not, to aeltaher@hotmail.com. We would like to hear from you in either case.

We are only three members left on the EAS Board, so we count on your full cooperation to make this function a success. Please be prompt, and have your check or the exact cash amount for your party ready (NO credit cards ). Again, RSVP as early as you can, as this helps us coordinate with the restaurant.

Please write your name on the back of your picture and kindly hand it to Tarek Ghazi as soon as you walk in. He volunteered to scan the pictures and project them for all to enjoy, and needs time to prepare everything.

The EAS Board is eager and looking forward to seeing all of our members and friends for an evening of fun and surprises.