The Family of OUR Family in Iraq
Toni Harris OP (Sinsinawa)
International Dominican Co-Promoter for Justice and Peace
An oversized edition of the Holy
Scriptures lay open wide on a low table in the center of the room. On
closer examination, I realized the text was in Arabic. Our meeting
with Bishop Josef Absi, Patriarchal Vicar of the Greek Melkite
Church in Damascus, was just concluding. As the Dominicans
in the group -- Arlene Flaherty, Dusty Farnan and I -- stood near
the table and admired the beautiful script, Bishop Absi joined
us. Arlene
asked him if he please would read from the page to which the Scriptures
were open. He read first in Arabic then translated in English.
The Bishop read the verses of 2 Corinthians quoted above. We
three Dominicans caught one another’s eyes meaningfully as
he read the phrase about speaking the truth.
|
LEFT:
Toni Harris, Arlene Flaherty and Dusty Farnan hold Sacred
Scripture in Damascus |
This providentially proclaimed Word was particularly
appropriate for our Catholic Relief Services Sisters Delegation
to the Middle East, January 12-20, 2008. Eight Sister delegates
traveled with a few CRS staff members to Lebanon and Syria. We
hoped to learn the truth about the Iraqi refugees in those countries
and to openly state this truth to our various publics and networks
following the trip.
Our visit began in Beirut, Lebanon. Our first full
day in Beirut included an opportunity to be with some members of
our Dominican Family there. Sr. Maria Hanna, Prioress of St. Catherine
Congregation from Iraq, and the local prioress, Sr. Germaine, joined
us for mass in the Chaldean Cathedral. After mass, we were invited
to their convent perched high in the hills north of the city. Their
view of the Mediterranean Sea is breathtaking. The Dominican community
there provided us with a feast of traditional Mid-eastern foods.
This wonderful hospitality of our Dominican Sisters was a preview
of the overwhelming hospitality that we would continue to experience
everywhere we visited in Lebanon and Syria. (In Lebanon, two congregations
of Dominican Sisters are present: St. Catherine, with two communities;
Presentation, also with two communities. Presently, there are no
Dominicans in Syria. However, Dominicans have been present in the
Middle East since the earliest years of the Order. Jordan of Saxony,
second Master of the Order, died in a shipwreck off the coast of
Palestine in 1237.)
As I contemplate my week-long visit to the Middle
East, several threads weave the fabric of the truth that I learned
during those days: consequence, desperation; dedication;
powerlessness; hospitality.
|
An Iraqi
boy stands in a shelter for refugee mothers and their children
in Damascus, Syria. The shelter reaches out to some of the
estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees now in Syria. Photo:
Laura Sheahen/Catholic Relief Services, January 2008 |
The consequence or “fall-out” of US policy
in the Middle East surrounded us on every side. The US-led invasion
of Iraq has not only opened the way for mayhem in Iraq but has
also caused enormous problems for neighboring countries. Current
estimates (conservative) indicate that 1.5 million Iraqi refugees
are in Syria; 700,000 in Jordan; 50,000 in Lebanon. More
than 2 million Iraqis are internally displaced in Iraq. Some countries
whom the US Government historically denounces are the very ones
who have had to “pick-up the pieces” as a result of
US policy. Syria, a country the size of North Dakota with a population
of about 19 million, is trying to cope with more than 1.5 million
Iraqi refugees. In general, Iraq’s neighbors have been
tolerant, if not welcoming.
The desperation of the Iraqi refugees whom we met
was tangible. In small groups, we personally visited the homes
of Iraqi refugee families. With my small group, I visited
three families in Beirut and two families in Damascus. Due
to non-existent or non-renewable visas, most Iraqis in the countries
are considered illegal. Apartments are over-crowded, without
much furniture, and unheated. As undocumented refugees, adults
cannot work legally. Family roles are turned-upside-down
as children are sent to work at menial tasks to support their families
rather than to school. Increasing numbers of women are driven
to prostitution. The effects of trauma and depression are widespread
and, for the most part, untreated.
The dedication of the Caritas and CRS staff and their
partner organizations, as well as others from UNCHR (High Commission
for Refugees), was extremely impressive. Many of these persons
have spent decades in direct work with refugees and other vulnerable
populations. Most significant for me were the strong, competent,
and courageous women—especially Sisters – who work
tirelessly to address the needs of refugees, particularly refugee
women and children. I remember especially the Good Shepherd
Congregation, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Congregation, the
Lazarus Congregation (Daughters of Charity), and our own Dominican
Sisters.
The feeling of powerlessness constantly tempted me to despair throughout
our trip. I think of the Iraqi mother of four who begged
me to speak to the UNHCR about her case. I can still see
the young Iraqi couple and their new baby in a cold basement apartment
with no furniture; the young mother refusing to leave the apartment
because she was threatened by persons from another sect. I
remember the middle-aged couple describing the death threats they
received in Iraq; the man simply sat, thin and expressionless,
except for his vacant eyes. I won’t forget the university-age
Iraqis who hoped that we could help them obtain student visas to
the US so that they might continue studies interrupted by the US
invasion. The experiences of others in the delegation multiplied
such stories. The words of Tony Kushner provide some encouragement: “.
. . the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. I
do not believe the wicked always win. I believe our despair
is a lie we are telling ourselves.”
The hospitality of the people of the Middle East is beyond description.
The Chaldean Bishop of Beirut, Bishop Michel Kassarji, served a
grand breakfast after our morning meeting with him. Sisters in
Lebanon and Syria served us wonderful meals in connection with
our visits. Every organization and office with whom we met provided
coffee, tea, and delicious sweets. Most significantly, the
Iraqi refugee families provided from the little they had something
for us to eat and drink (usually Coca-cola) during our visits with
them. All this kindness caused me to speculate about what
kind of welcome these Middle Eastern people would receive in most
places in the US.
Recalling again the Scriptures with which I began, the “ministry” of
participation in this Delegation was truly for me “a gift
of the mercy of God.”
The experiences and learnings
confirmed for me the need to continue to “renounce” the “disgraceful
and underhanded ways” in which the US government justified
the invasion of Iraq, with the resulting violence, death and misery
in the Middle East. This “open statement of the truth” demands
that citizens of the US, as well as of those other countries who
were members of the Iraq invasion coalition (including the UK,
Australia, Poland, Spain, Italy, New Zealand), must now help to
address the plight of the more than 4 million displaced Iraqis
in the Middle East. Citizens need to encourage their governments
to welcome more Iraqi refugees in their resettlement programs,
to budget more funding for Iraqi refugee assistance, to generously
fund UNHCR programs for Iraqi refugees, and to support bilateral
funding to ease the burden of host governments with large Iraqi
refugee populations.
In 2002, Dominicans began to remind themselves: “I
HAVE FAMILY IN IRAQ.” Some continue to wear buttons/badges
and to display bumper stickers that announce this message. We
want to stand in solidarity with our two congregations of Dominican
Sisters, our Vicariate of Friars and hundreds of our Laity. Even
now, we CONTINUE to have Family in Iraq. However, many of
the family, friends, and neighbors of OUR Family have had to flee
Iraq because of the “murder and mayhem” there. (See
the US Catholic Bishops Delegation Report, July ‘07.) As
Dominicans, we need to proclaim “the open statement of the
truth” to our governments that amends must be made for the
enormous damage done in Iraq. We need “to commend ourselves
to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.” The
family of our Family in Iraq also stands in need of our
solidarity.
Toni Harris OP (Sinsinawa)
International Dominican Co-Promoter for Justice and Peace
February 2008 |
The
Family of OUR Family in Iraq
Toni Harris reflects on the recent delegation
to Syria and Lebanon
READ
MORE
Iraqi Refugees: Living in Limbo
Arlene Flaherty, OP assess the situation
READ MORE
Link to a CBS News Interview
with Sr. Arlene on the Refugee Situation
LISTEN
to a Vatican Radio interview with Sr. Toni Harris on
her impressions of the situation.
Advocacy Points from NETWORK
Dominicans Join Fact Finding
Mission to Syria and Lebanon
Iraqis are the third
largest and fastest growing refugee population in the world.
|