Today, we received a letter from our good friend, Sister Maria Goretti Hanna, O.P., Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in Iraq. We’ve worked closely with her and her order in Iraq and Jordan for decades; just this week, our CNEWA staff spent time with her assessing needs and meeting with refugees during their visit to Erbil, Iraq.
In her letter, Sister Maria wanted to express her gratitude for all we have been able to do, and described in more detail some of what is happening on the ground and the specific challenges the Iraqi people are facing.
Sister Maria wrote:
St. Paul says in the first letter to the Corinthians, “And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me,” (1 Cor 16: 3-4).
We feel that we are like the new church of Jerusalem that is going through hardship, but many other churches around the world are offering their helping hand in different ways. We thank [you] for the visit to Ain Kawa. Thank you for your prayers, concerns, and thoughtfulness and for your financial help. Thanks you for accompanying us.
It was a pleasure to meet the three kind delegates: Sister Marie-Claude Naddaf, Michel Constantin and Imad Abou Jaoude. We felt that their visit expressed total solidarity with our church in need. It was not a visit from a humanitarian organization, but [a visit with a] sincere sense of responsibilities and interests toward members of the one church of Christ. They were easy-going, great listeners and very open to others’ opinions. They came with one purpose which is to attend the immediate needs with regard to projects needed to help the refugees.
After arriving to our convent in Ain Kawa and having a brief meeting, we accompanied the delegates in their visit to the bishops in the area (Archbishop Boutros Moshe, Archbishop Bashar Warda and Archbishop Emil Nona) to discuss the needs and difficulties that are facing the church in Iraq. They were also able to meet with other religious women congregations in the area: Daughters of Mary Chaldean Sisters, Sacred Heart Sisters, Franciscan Sisters, Ephramite Sisters, and the Little Sisters of Jesus.
In the morning of 4 September, the delegates managed to meet members of the religious people (Syriac priests, Dominican Sisters and brothers, Franciscan Sisters, Ephramite Sisters, Rogazionisti Brothers and Jesus the Redeemer Brothers) who are working daily in the refugee camps. These members were able to express their experiences in the refugee centers, the difficulties they face, the needs of refugees, and their concerns about the future of Christians in Iraq. The delegates acknowledged the fact that the sisters and priests are a sign of hope among the people.
After the meeting, they visited a local refugee center and met with people who are in charge of the emergency clinic that has been placed by the Syric church there to meet people’s medical needs. Moreover, they were able to visit and sit with a family that lives in a tent. They were able also to visit Ain Kawa Mall that is being prepared to shelter refugees and also were able to visit Shlama Mall (an unfinished building) and met with many families living in the basement of the building — which is, in fact, a garage.
While at Shlama Mall, they met a family that just arrived from Qaraqosh. The family had been among the 70 hostages in Qaraqosh since the 10th of August (a few days after the exodus from Qaraqosh). The father in the family had been tortured and the mother and the two children (an eight-year-old girl and a boy) had been threatened because they refused to deny their Christian belief and become Muslims. They managed to escape the town when ISIS told them to go back to their homes and stay there.
Having seen and understood our painful reality, the delegates were able to recognize the urgent needs. Visiting a number of refugee centers in the area helped them witness the seriousness of our situation; consequently, they were able to recognize the most immediate things that are needed and in many ways they were in agreement with our opinions in terms of what to do first. To conclude their visit, the delegates met with us. We discussed some issues and we were able to spotlight the main problems that are facing the refugees and where/how to spend financial assistance that is dedicated to help the Christians refugees. Two things were decided: providing center for the disabled and caravans for the clinic along with a tent. Also, Sister Marie-Claude on behalf of her congregation…offered to help in a special way the homeless women and girls and offered to help the pregnant women who are close to giving birth so they may have healthy and safe environment.We thank them deeply for having the patience to listen to us and to our needs. Their enthusiasm, solidarity and interaction gave us hope that the world had not completely forgotten about us. We look forward to other visits to our region. We are open to accept other offers and suggestions.
Thank you and may God bless you,
Sister Maria Goretti Hanna, O.P.
Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena-Iraq
“The solidarity…gave us hope that the world had not completely forgotten about us.” Won’t you help us let the people of Iraq know they are not forgotten? Please remember them in your prayers and with a gift to keep this vital work going. Your generosity today will give the persecuted Christians of Iraq hope for tomorrow, and ensure that the good work of the sisters goes on. Thank you!