Fw: via David McR -- from Cathy Breen in New York City

----- Original Message ----- 
From: David McReynolds 
To: mj 
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:43 AM
Subject: Re: from Cathy Breen in New York City


I'm sending this to my EdgeLeft list, as I don't know what else to do. The address is that of Mary House, around the corner from me. Cathy Breen was recently in Iraq and is now back in New York at Mary House.

You may want to send this note from her on to any who might have a few dollars to send. Kathy's note is a painful reminder of the agony left behind after US troops departed.

David McReynolds


On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 12:40 PM, mj <[email protected]> wrote:

  February 21, 2013




  Dear Friends,




  It was 7am yesterday morning when I finally got up the courage to telephone a family we know in Baghdad.  A young woman answered the phone.  I met her as a ten or eleven year old refugee in Syria.   She is maybe seventeen now and speaks pretty good English.  The connection was poor.  “Is there any hope to get out of Iraq, to come to the U.S.?” she asked pleadingly at the other end of the line.  I could hear her family in the background.  “We want to know if there is any hope?” she repeated   She, and others in her family,  are in a life-threatening situation, one so frightening that I have had to put it from my mind these last weeks as there is nothing I can do, or think of,  to help them  or alleviate in some small way their acute suffering.  No way to protect them.  I had dreaded this moment and didn’t know what to say to her.  Finally I said “You must be strong.  You must not give up.”  And then, “ You must try and trust God.”  My words sounded weak to my own ears. 





  Iraq is experiencing another surge in violence targeting both Sunni and Shi’a sectors.  This family is caught in the crossfire.  In the last two weeks I have jotted down some of the death tolls due to explosions: 41, 38, 22, 26 and 52.   I too am trying to trust God.




  In the news we hear that 5,000 Syrians are fleeing Syria daily.  But we don’t hear  about Iraqis fleeing Syria.  Bordering countries do not want them.  They are not the ones in the emergency UNHCR camps for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. 





  Since my return from Iraq about three months ago, I get ongoing reports from Iraqis we know stranded in Syria, or those more fortunate who have been able to flee to Lebanon, or to Turkey.   But then what?   With no money, how are they to live, rent a room, buy food and pay for heat?  Some have beseeched us for funds to flee, or to be smuggled out.   And what about the majority still stuck in Syria with no prospect of escape?  Whole neighborhoods and towns have been abandoned, bombed out and smoldering.  How are they to live?




  With gifts you have sent, I have been able to forward money to such families.  Blessedly, despite increased U.S.- imposed sanctions, we have still been able to get small amounts to families caught in the crossfire in Damascus.  But the money is gone now, and I feel forced to write you today.  





  One faithful friend from the States has been sending money to a young family who fled from Syria to Lebanon.  This money has been helping them survive for well over a year now.  Another friend has been religiously sending a small amount monthly to a young couple where the mother is about six months pregnant with their first baby.  They had to flee the explosions in their Damascus neighborhood to take refuge in a school. There they joined other refugees, 30 to 40, crowded without heat into each classroom.   We are relieved to hear that they arrived safely to Turkey about a week ago.  But they need money to live on.




  I deeply dislike asking for money, but I don’t know what else to do.  I know that if you are able to send something on, that you will do so.  I have no words to thank you for your faithful support over the years.  You can send a check or money order payable to me to:  55 E. 3rd St., NY, NY 10003.  It will go directly to Iraqis and/or Palestinians from Iraq who are in Syria, Lebanon or Turkey.  





  Thank you again, my friends.  


  Cathy Breen



  -- 
  Melissa Jameson
  646-276-7147(c)