CRS Sisters’ Delegation to Lebanon and Syria

by Marie Lucey, OSF – LCWR Associate Director of Social Mission

At the invitation of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a delegation of US women religious, accompanied by two lay CRS staff, traveled to Lebanon and Syria to witness the suffering of Iraqi people who have fled the violence of their country and to raise awareness of their situation with our constituencies upon our return. It is difficult to capture in words the fullness of a month’s worth of experiences packed into one week.

Departing from Kennedy airport the night of January 11, we arrived the next night in Beirut, Lebanon via Amman, Jordan, and departed Damascus, Syria early on January 20.

Who we were

Arlene Flaherty, OP, CRS staff and former LCWR member; Anne Curtis, RSM, LCWR member; Toni Harris, OP, former LCWR and GCC member; Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK and former LCWR member; Durstyne Farnan, OP, Justice and Peace Director for her congregation; Clare Nolan, GS, NGO representative for the Good Shepherd sisters; Carmen Villegas, Las Hermanas; Laura Sheehan and Jenna Welch, CRS staff; Marie Lucey, OSF, LCWR Associate Director for Social Mission; and our incredible CRS guide Vivian Manneh, based in Cairo.

Why we went

The purpose of the delegation was to experience the reality of the Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and Syria, to increase our understanding of the factors impacting their lives, and to become aware of the work of CRS and partners in the region in order to educate and advocate through our respective constituencies and networks in ways that will advance justice and peace for Iraqi people who have fled the violence in Iraq.

What we saw

We met Iraqis in many different situations—at migrant centers, in their temporary homes or shelters, in detention, and in their churches. We were appalled by the Retention Center in Beirut, created under an overpass on the highway as a temporary (so called) holding place for undocumented migrants from several countries, including Iraq; an underground space with cage-like cells each holding 40 women or men who never see daylight or breathe fresh air while they wait to be processed; and yet, a cleaner, warmer space due to the untiring efforts of Caritas/CRS Lebanon staff who bring some light to this dreary place.

Our hearts were torn by the plight of Iraqi families we visited, families crammed into one small room, some sick, all of whom had family members killed in Iraq; and yet, families who were embraced by CRS staff, and by Dominican, Lazarus (Charity), Sacred Heart and Good Shepherd sisters. We met women and children, Christian and Muslim, sheltered by the Good Shepherd sisters in Syria, the only women’s shelter in the entire country. We laughed and danced with children who enacted a play for us in their safe shelter with Dominican sisters high on a mountain in Lebanon. We met with Christian Iraqi families in Beirut after Liturgy celebrated in Aramaic by a Chaldean bishop, with beautiful, haunting music sung by the choir. We mingled with Iraqi women in their cooking class, a project of the Good Shepherds, and listened to a youth choir sing a beautiful Chaldean Marian hymn before sharing their painful stories colored with tentative hopes for the future. In Damascus, we visited one of the largest mosques in the world and the Islamic Studies Center, and we walked the narrow winding streets of Old City which Paul walked so many years before us.

What we learned

From Caritas/CRS agencies, from UNHCR (UN High Commission on Refugees), from bishops in Beirut and Damascus, and from communities of women religious we learned about the staggering needs for shelter, employment, education, health care and psychological services. We learned that while Syria has resisted international assistance and initially welcomed Iraqi brothers and sisters as guests, the country is now overwhelmed by the needs of 1.5 million refugees from Iraq, in addition to the 400,000 Palestinian refugees who have fled to Syria for decades. While Lebanon closed its borders some time ago, Syria just recently closed its borders and is starting to establish processes for some international humanitarian assistance. CRS, working through partners, is just beginning to create support services in Damascus, while Caritas/CRS is well established in Lebanon, with a trained and compassionate staff working out of the Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center. Although not surprised, we learned with sadness about the impact of the US invasion of Iraq and the meager US response to refugees. Even the U.S. Charges d’Affaires, Michael Corbin, urged us to inform our constituents at home about the magnitude of the problem and the need for greater assistance. We heard more facts and statistics than my mind can retain, but we saw the figures lived out in the suffering of refugees and the tireless work of people trying to assist them.

What we do now

First, we share with our networks what we have seen and heard; we tell the stories. We continue to pray and reflect. In scheduled conference calls we will determine what the next steps will be for education, advocacy, and assistance projects. One clear need is for stress and trauma training for CRS volunteers in both Syria and Lebanon. While basic medical needs can be at least minimally addressed, there is a high degree of depression and trauma among the refugees yet small capacity to address this critical need. As concrete actions are identified they will be shared on the LCWR website.

A word of gratitude

All of us are profoundly greatly for this opportunity provided by CRS. Each staff person we met is fully committed to alleviating the suffering of migrants and refugees, including abused and trafficked women and children, and to acting for greater justice for persons displaced from their country by the violence unleashed by the U.S. invasion and occupation. CRS believes, like Good Shepherd Sr. Souhila, “They are not refugees, they are our brothers and sisters, because the world belongs to all of us.”