United Compatriots

The United Compatriots (formally known as the 'Association of the Veterans and Friends of the Carriers of Mercy) is a charitable organisation based in Packilvania founded by the late Sultana of Packilvania, Anshalia, consort of Sultan of Packilvania, Amhoud I.

Although nominally founded to care for veterans of Carriers of Mercy who fought in the Second Packilvanian Civil War and erect monuments and carry out ceremonies in remembrance of their contribution, the organisation is seen as the soft power arm of the Bedonite dynasty.

Mandate and key programs

The United Compatriots was founded with the mandate of caring for veterans of the Carriers of Mercy who fought in the war. This includes providing psychosocial support, raising awareness and lobbying for programs that ensure their proper care and rehabilitation. They aim to ensure that veterans and their families have access to socioeconomic opportunities in the new Packilvania.

They aim to ensure that events are carried out and monuments are erected that commemorate the Carriers of Mercy, their work and their legacy. They work to ensure that the history, mission and beliefs of the Carriers of Mercy are propagated, taught and properly recorded. They ensure that martyrs and heroes are appropriately recognised. Outside of their core mandate, they also engage in various social outreach activities. They lobby the government to ensure that the ideological values of the Carriers of Mercy and the intellectual and political thought of Sultan Amhoud I are considered and engendered in policy and decision-making.

Organisation

The United Compatriots is constituted in terms of the Constitution of the United Compatriots (luKhanon luBas) which is issued a within the framework of the National Waqifs Act by the authority of the Minister of Social Development. The Constitution vests the power to amend it to the Annual General Conference (AGC, luMijhalis luBas nadine luAlmun). The AGC adopts the financial statements and the integrated annual report, elects the Governing Council and the President, and approves changes to the endowment policy of the organisation. The AGC consists of the elected delegates of the chapters of the organisation.

Governing Council

The President of the United Compatriots (muRayeeslea muBas) is traditionally the Sultana or the Sultana Mother. The incumbent President is Saga of Tynam. who assumed the role following the her coronation and marriage to Thumim V. The President convenes and presides over the Governing Council and exercises strategic leadership over the organisation.

The Governing Council is the highest decision-making body between conferences. It is responsible for approving significant policies, and projects. This consists of 10 members who serve part time and mainly decide on matters by consensus. It is required that half of the members be members of the Bedonite dynasty and one to be a member of the Magisterium of Paxism. The members serve part-time.

They are volunteers and do not get remunerated for their contributions. The General Secretary (muSikhratariya muAlmun) keeps records, including the constitution and decisions, and prepares the agenda for Governing Council meetings and circulates minutes, notices and reports.

These are:

• President: Saga of Tynam
• Deputy President: Prince Thuwalqamir a-Bayees Bedon
• Chief Administrator Lohmadim Ladiaam
• General Secretary Waseem Adwaal
• Prince Ashmar a-Sikham Bedon
• Prince Basham a-Yahad Bedon
• Prince Axum a-Udhur Bedon
• Magister Khodayn Fikram
• Sir Sawool Jawer
• Sir Yamal Ujmadeen

Executive Council

The Chief Administrator (muRayees aluTamrir muBas) is in charge of the daily running of the organisation and serves as the highest-ranked professional member and is the only fully employed member of the Governing Council.

The President can appoint the Executive Council which consists of the organisation's highest leadership structures and it coordinates internal functions. These members administer the functions of the organisation. The Chief Administrator chairs this grouping and its members are usually appointed with their input.

• National Leader for Commemorative Activities and Events: Sulyam Imhodeen (organises or supports events commemorating the war such as parades, and services)
• National Leader for Veteran Care: Okhtar Kharyam (coordinates and implements programs for identifying and providing support for veterans and their family)
• National Leader for Martyrs and Heroes: Akhira Borhoud (identifies, and keeps a registry of deceased former members of the Carriers of Mercy, ensures a United Compatriots' presence at their funerals, and memorials)
• National Leader for Historical Memory: Avan Heldaan (lobbies the government and parents to ensure that the history of the Carriers of Mercy is taught in schools and supports or initiates the creation of media such as art and film about them and their deeds)
• National Leader for Preservation of Heritage: Thumal Akheyda (identifies and preserves artefacts and historical places relating to the Carriers of Mercy)
• National Leader for Fundraising and Accounts: Obrion Mukwan (coordinates fundraising efforts and ensures financial accounts are properly managed)
• National Leader for Members, and Volunteers: Draym Sabran (keeps records and issues identifying documents of members, volunteers and chapters, oversees the admission of members)
• National Leader for Chapters: Rahyan Erhad (establishes and dissolves chapters and manages relations with and resolves disputes between them)
• National Leader for Discipline: Rashif Hurmeed (receives complaints regarding members' and volunteers' conduct, and oversees disciplinary procedures including their expulsion and suspension).
• National Leader for Social Engagement: Yaman Athiram (conducts other charitable activities outside the core mandate of the United Compatriots)
• National Spokesperson and National Leader for Public Relations: Herion Axaltar (manages external and public facing communication)

Financing

The United Compatriots receives all its funds from donations, investment and rental income, members' fees, and merchandise sales. It has an endowment of an unknown amount managed by investment professionals. This includes a property portfolio that raises rental incomes. By far the biggest donor is the Bedonite dynasty, specifically the Amhoud I Family Trust and the Bedon Family Foundation. It also receives donations from the Dohal family and wealthy people such as Sawool Jawer, founder of Debby, Usamid Heldaan, founder of Buddy, and Yamal Ujmadeen, founder of Teigo.

Membership and volunteers

The organisation is probably the largest charitable organisation in the world. It has 21 million active members and over 125 million active volunteers (i.e., individual people who have volunteered in at least one of its programs in the last five years). It is one of the most well resourced charitable organisations in the world. Its membership includes many veterans and relatives of members of the Carriers of Mercy some of whom are leaders, celebrities and peers of the Realm. This includes the family of Eron Dohal such as Khimariyon, Bismal and Munwadeem Dohal, Sawool Jawer (founder of Debby), Yamal Ujmadeen (founder of Teigo), Usamid Heldaan (founder of Buddy), and Bukhas Ladiaam (CEO of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Packilvania).

Reception

The United Compatriots has been praised by Supreme Magister Tawak VII for taking care of the heroes of the revolution against Communism. Media organisations such as the Crescent have identified it as one of the biggest public service and outreach organisations in the world. Eron Dohal, former Intelligence Chief of the Carriers of Mercy, stated that this organisation had done commendable work in helping Packilvanians to address and move on from their tragic past under Communist rule. The organisation has been globally acknowledged by several magazines and other publications as a force in addressing social challenges globally such as water access, primary and emergency healthcare and humanitarian aid in conflict and natural disasters areas.

When the United Compatriots was founded, former members of the Packilvanian Communist Party, felt that it was a Trojan horse through which the Bedonite dynasty attempted to keep the Carriers of Mercy alive despite formally dissolving the organisation and banning parties in general, purporting that they were in violation of the Armistice Agreement that ended the Second Packilvanian Civil War. Critics outside of the former Communist Party such as former members of the Carriers of Mercy and Magisterium of Paxism shared similar sentiments. The Bedonite dynasty refuted these claims by asserting that the United Compatriots did not campaign for political office in elections and thus could not be construed as a political party. Furthermore, its charitable goals and structure were consistent with the National Waqifs Act.

Foreign critics and political dissidents have claimed that the United Compatriots is the propaganda arm of the Bedonite dynasty. Through the exclusive retention by that family of half of the Governing Council and the virtually unchallenged election of the Sultana of Packilvania to the position President, they argue that the organisation entrenches the Bedonite dynasty and disseminates its ideology. They also claim that the organisation's close contacts with the government has enabled businesspeople to leverage their membership to access tender contracts and other opportunities that would otherwise be prohibitively difficult for non-members. Foreign intelligence agencies have claimed that the organisation's work abroad is used as a front by the intelligence agencies of Packilvania to infiltrate foreign nations and that it is used to disseminate radical and anti-liberal ideologies. The organisation and the Department of State Security vehemently deny these accusations.

Political dissidents and former members have claimed that it is difficult for people who are not rich or well connected to climb the ranks and achieve positions of leadership within the organisation. They claim that the organisation focused on vanity projects that make the rich and powerful people within the organisation look good while expecting the unpaid members and volunteers to do the grunt work. They also claim that the organisation is not democratic and that previous Presidents have exercised widesweeping powers and restricted discourse within the organisation.