Damascus, Syria
June 26, 2009
Cathy Breen with Iraqi Child in SyriaDear Friends,
My time in Syria is coming to a close. Tomorrow I will head to Jordan for a couple of days and then back to the big apple on July 1st. A final session with UNHCR the other day brought a sense of closure in some ways, as I was able to discuss concerns and turn over concrete “cases” for their consideration. We spoke of the increasingly desperate situation of Iraqi refugees here, one hidden from the world by the lack of media coverage. But we also acknowledged the many small miracles and victories we continue to witness.
A young Iraqi woman (I will call her Zayneb), mother of four small children, wrote a little book about a horse with hidden wings. She wanted to honor the staff at the UNHCR here in Damascus by dedicating the book to them. “Everyone knows” she told her grandmother as a child “that horses can’t fly.” But her grandmother, still living in Baghdad, could not be persuaded otherwise. She insisted that the horse she saw could fly! But it is Zayneb’s deep sense of gratitude that leaps out from the pages.





