NOVEMBER 2014

committed through crisis
Michigan mobilizes for Iraq
BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO
People buy merchandise and make donations helping the cause after the prayer vigil at
Our Lady of Sorrows.
As soon as it was evident Iraq
was being invaded by radical
extremists known as ISIS
and the targets were Christians, the
Chaldean community in the United
States went into action.
Bishop Francis Kalabat immediately
began to bring committees together
with various skill sets to deal
with the current crisis while creating
long-term strategies.
“Along with regular meetings with
White House officials and members of
the UN to discuss the political policies
and strategies, we needed to mobilize
the Chaldean community here in the
United States to help the persecuted
minorities in Iraq and the Middle
East,” said Auday Arabo, spokesperson
for the St. Thomas Chaldean
Catholic Diocese. “We have been
witnessing a Christian genocide in
our homeland and our people here in
the U.S. immediately stepped up and
offered their time, resources and talent
to help those in dire need.”
An advocacy committee was established
with a group of people who
have direct contacts in Iraq and are
well versed in political policy, business,
media and outreach.
“Our people in Iraq live in fear,”
said Martin Manna, president of
the Chaldean American Chamber
of Commerce, who traveled to the
northern Iraq before the ISIS invasion.
“We are doing all we can here in
the United States to help the Christians
in Iraq, whether it be through
our relationships with elected leaders
or by using our skills and connections
to help improve the quality of
life in Iraq as best we can.”
One of the first directives from
Bishop Francis was to support the already
existing Adopt-a-Refugee program
and immediately establish the
Mosul Relief Effort. Mosul Relief Effort
will focus on displaced Christians
in Iraq, while Adopt-a-Refugee is for
those who have fled to Jordan, Lebanon
and Syria. The website HelpIraq.
org was also established for people to
get updates and donate online.
“Adopt-a-Refugee has been helping
displaced Christians around surrounding
countries since 2003,” said
program founder Basil Bacall. “Now
we set up the Mosul Relief Effort
for displaced Christians in Iraq. We
have collected money and items that
we have sent to people on the ground
assessing the situation, and it is created
with the same transparency and
proof that money is being given to
people in need.”
Iraqi refugees have been leaving
their homeland to avoid religious
persecution since the 2003 U.S.
invasion. These refugees arrive in
America with very little money and
few possessions, and are in desperate
need of help. The Chaldean American
Ladies of Charity (CALC) has
been working with the committees
since their inception to help not
only the newcomers, but the internally
displaced Iraqis.
For example, CALC recently
collected feminine hygiene products
to send to Iraq. “Many of these
women are without basic necessities,”
said President Rita Foumia.
“Our community has really come
together to support this effort.”
Another new committee is
MERCI (Medical Emergency Relief
for Christian Iraqis), which is comprised
of medical experts helping
with healthcare needs of displaced
minorities. These health professionals
are from the Chaldean American
Association of Health Professionals
(CAAHP) headed by President Dr.
Musib Gappy, an internal medicine
physician with St. John Providence
Health System, and Vice President
Joanne Shamoun, a pharmacist at
Providence Hospital Southfield.
“We have been working on immediate
needs and long-term plans,”
said Gappy. “We have several goals
set for this committee.”
They meet regularly to discuss
their plans. An urgent need is collecting
medication and medical supplies
for people in Iraq. A shipment
of such supplies from Michigan headed
out last month.
They are also helping with medical
care for 150,000 displaced Iraqis in
northern Iraq by purchasing medicine
for clinics in Kurdistan. They are not
only sending money to buy supplies
and medicine, but also helping to establish
more clinics in Iraq. Similar
to the Adopt-a-Refugee program, the
doctors are starting an Adopt-a-Clinic
program through MERCI.
Through their website, they are
establishing a 24-hour hotline where
doctors in Michigan with various
specialties will be available on the
phone to discuss and advise on patients
in Iraq.
“Many of the doctors in Iraq were
Christians. With so many Christians
leaving Iraq, the country no longer
has the specialty doctors,” said Gappy.
MERCI has several subcommittees
focused on various areas including
getting the word out to the community.
“We have received letters and donations
from non-Chaldeans who are
so moved by the work MERCI and
CAAHP are doing,” said Shamoun.
“We are also committed to true
transparency,” said Gappy. “Just like
Adopt-a-Refugee, every penny is accounted
for and we have receipts and
documentation.”
Through Adopt-a-Refugee,
MERCI has already sent thousands
of dollars to fund at least six clinics
in Erbil; $5,000 will be allocated to
Dohuk to establish a clinic inside an
Assyrian church, which is headed
by Fr. Philipus in coordination with
Fr. Hadeel of Telkaif. It will cost between
$1,000 and $3,000 monthly
for each clinic to stay open; most
physicians are working as volunteers.
They have also launched the “$20
for MERCI” program to keep the
clinics open, said Rafed Yaldo from
Adopt-A-Refuge, who has helped
launch other several committees for
the cause.
One of those is Chaldeans TEACH
(Teachers Educating And Creating
Hope). Their main mission was
gathering coats for the thousands of
displaced families facing the typically
cold and rainy winter in northern Iraq.
“Those lucky enough to escape
22 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2014