Dominican Sisters to Congress:
Relieve Iraqi Refugee Crisis
by Nathan Mihelich, Communicator for the Springfield Dominicans
Sr. Reg McKillip
Sr. Roberta Popara
Dominican Sisters from across the country were represented in Washington, DC, in April to urgently call on Congress to immediately improve U.S. efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees. In 2007 the United States fell short of its promise to permanently resettle 7,000 Iraqis, and already the promise to resettle 12,000 Iraqis in 2008 is showing a dismally slow start. Approximately 2,500 of the promised 7,000 were resettled in 2007. Reg McKillip, OP, and Roberta Popara, OP, were among the Sisters who traveled to DC.
“Every day I hear the stories of refugees whose families have been torn apart by violence and displacement,” said Beth Murphy, OP, Dominican Sister of Springfield, IL, who has recently been working with Iraqi refugees outside of Detroit, MI. “These families’ dreams and hopes for a happy future for their children are not worth less than the dreams and hopes of American families. The terrible reality of this war is that it is putting at risk the futures of millions of children, in Iraq, in the United States, and around the world.”
“We met with our congressional members to express the truth that the life and dignity of every human person is sacred and is the foundation of a moral vision for society. The sanctity of human life is under direct attack as a result of this war,” said Sister Dusty Farnan, OP, North American Promoter of Justice and Peace for the Dominican Order.
Unless the government addresses the Iraqi displacement crisis, Iraqi civilians will be at even greater risk, with serious consequences for the entire region, according to Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC). While Iraq and neighboring countries face the worst humanitarian crisis in Iraq’s history, including the displacement of more than 4 million people, U.S. and international assistance remains inadequate.
Dominican congregations represented in Washington, DC, included the communities of Amityville, Caldwell, San Rafael, Mission San Jose, Sinsinawa, Springfield, Mosul Iraq, Adrian, Blauvelt, Grand Rapids, Sparkill, Columbus, and Racine.
Responding to the humanitarian crisis and the escalation in the violence facing the people of Iraq, the Dominican Sisters joined representatives from EPIC and specifically called for action by Congress to
- Strengthen humanitarian assistance to the region by providing increased funding to international organizations and nongovernmental organizations providing essential humanitarian aid to internally displaced Iraqis and Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries. Also provide additional bilateral assistance to refugee hosting countries to help their national systems expand to accommodate refugee needs and to ease the strains on local communities.
- Increase support for reconciliation, recovery, and community-based development in Iraq.
- Improve U.S. admissions and resettlement of especially vulnerable refugees from Iraq by becoming the global leader in resettling displaced Iraqis in an expedient manner, giving priority to the most vulnerable cases.