Test Innovators is a Regina Organization
Feb. 1, 2021
With the lifting of the travel ban, I’ve reflected on the impact of being a Regina Organization. We’ve been inspired by those across the globe who have reached out to us, and so I have decided that we will continue to provide our services for free to people from these countries. We believe that the responsibility of educating humans transcends national borders and enmity between governments.
From Mahdi, a Regina Scholar from Iran:
Thank you and I am very excited and I hope the best happens to you.
And I want to present you a poem by Saadi.
All human beings are in truth akin.
All in creation share one origin,
When fate allots a member pangs and pains.
No ease for other members then remains,
If, unperturbed, another’s grief canst scan.
Thou are not worthy of the name of man.
Jan. 30, 2017
I ask that we remember the lessons of Niemöller:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
On January 27th, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking the entry of residents from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for the next 90 days. This act also bars Syrian citizens and refugees indefinitely. Parents are detained at airports, unable to return to their children. Doctors, scientists, and teachers are stuck in limbo after trips abroad. Men and women who have fought for this country are unable to see their families.
My grandmother was born in Poland in 1921 and by the age of 19 was a refugee fleeing the Nazis and their Holocaust. It was the kindness of fellow people and the stand they took that kept her alive. Before she passed in 2012, she told me that before anything else – be a good person. It is times like these that we must ask ourselves what it means to be a good person.
I am announcing today that Test Innovators (testinnovators.com) is officially a Regina organization, named after my grandmother. As such, we believe that fear is the mechanism for the spread of unjust policy and we will not succumb to it. We believe in the inherent kindness and goodness of people. Lastly, we stand against any unethical or immoral action, even if it is deemed legal.
Today we declare:
- In our hiring, we will continue to give equal opportunity to people even if they have had the misfortune of being from countries where terrorism is rampant. In fact, we view the ability to overcome adversity as a positive quality in a potential employee.
- In hiring decisions, Test Innovators will continue to consider qualified applicants who received an Employment Authorization Document under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, regardless of the future status of DACA.
- We commit to giving our services for free to people banned from this country until this unjust policy changes, because as American citizens and as citizens of this world we believe it is our duty to stand for human values and act with kindness.
We ask others to join us.
Edan Shahar
CEO of Test Innovators