July 27,2008
Amman, Jordan
Dear Friends,
“Think about it for a second. What would you do if your child was kidnapped? If you were in a war-torn country where the police couldn’t help you? To many, if not most parents, the answer of course would be—anything, anything. Including paying ransom to those who were holding their child even if the kidnappers were terrorists. Over the past five years for many Iraqis, that choice has been a very grim reality.” (Dan Rather Reports on ‘The High Price of Ransom,” HDNet TV, July 1, 2008)
Last week in a meeting at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Amman, I was asked if I had seen the above program. I had not, but was later able to get a printout of the text. I have it before me as I write you. Why is it that I am not surprised to read that one in every four Iraqis seeking help from the UNHCR has had a family member kidnapped? And yet seeing this number in print creates a knot in my stomach, and a feeling of nausea. One in four, imagine. One in four.
A day or so after the meeting at the UNHCR—I had gone to get an update on their activities over the last 7 months and to learn of their current position—I was sitting with a Jordanian woman in a public square not far from where I am living. An Iraqi man I know quite well saw us and approached asking if I could meet with a father whose little daughter is ill. What could I say? How could I refuse? The timing was providential as the Jordanian woman agreed to translate for us.
About 1/2 hour later, the father arrived and showed me a medical report of his 4 year old daughter. She has suffered from seizures since birth, and Caritas is no longer able to provide the needed medications. His own savings have run out. They had four children, but a year ago one of their daughters died of cancer. She was just seven.
This family fled to Jordan about two years ago, after their then seven year old boy was kidnapped in Baghdad. The child was held for three weeks. The father explained that the family paid $8,000 of a $10,000 ransom for their son’s release. They sought help with the UNHCR in Amman and, after arduous and lengthy processing, were granted refugee status and qualified for resettlement. Last October they had the one deciding interview with someone from the U.S. Homeland Security team. The officer asked this father “Why did you pay a ransom and support the terrorists?” The father showed me the form letter of rejection with the box “credibility” checked. The letter did not even have a date on it.
As the time drew near to take leave of one another, I remembered that I had an envelope in my bag from friends in the U.S. for just such a family in need. Together with the money was a handwritten message from them, and I am sorry now that I didn’t think to copy it. Just two sentences as I recall, but words that conveyed the deep longing and desire that one day we would live in peace together. The simple words seemed to encircle and embrace us, and it was enough to just sit silently together for some moments.
Cathy Breen
