Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County leads Delegation to the Middle East

An interfaith delegation led by Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County leaves Monday to visit Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and meet with U.S. and other government officials. The intent of the visit is to raise awareness about this humanitarian crisis: 2.5 million Iraqi refugees have fled Iraq into neighboring Syria, Jordan and Lebanon since the beginning of the war. Catholic Charities has been contacted by numerous Bay Area residents who fear for their family members who have been forced to flee Iraq and are now living in desperate conditions. Dr. Amir is one such Bay Area resident whose family is now stranded in Syria. Refugees in Syria and Jordan cannot work and their children cannot attend school. Many who fled Iraq risked their lives by serving as translators for the U.S. military. Catholic Charities was recently contacted by a a local school principal who is in the Marine Reserves and will soon return to Iraq for his third tour of duty. He has been doing all he can to help his Iraqi interpreter, Haitham, get to safety. Haitham, his wife and two small children are standed in Iraq and fear for their lives. Haitham's father was abducted and killed because of his son's work with the U.S. military. There are countless individuals in Haitham's situation, yet the U.S. has done little or nothing to ensure their safety. Catholic Charities hopes bringing greater awareness to this crisis will inspire people to take action. Last year, the U.S. government agreed to process a mere 7,000 Iraqi refugees for admission to the United States. Only 1,608 were processed. We can do better than that. We will update this posting throughout our trip to provide more information and let you know what you can do to make a difference.