Office for Peace and Justice

Emergency Appeal for Iraq

CRS, Caritas Reach Displaced Families

A Humanitarian Crisis Escalating violence in northern and central Iraq has caused devastation and mass displacement of 1.2 million people since January. Fear looms as the Islamic State of Iraq and greater Syria (ISIS) has taken control of large swaths of the Ninewa, Salah Al-Din and Diyala provinces. Religious minorities, including Christians, Shia Muslims and Turkmen, have been singled out for attack. On July 18, ISIS issued threats directly to Christians in Mosul, resulting in the sudden flight of the remaining 500 Christian families to safer areas of Ninewa. The journey is not without danger: Families are stripped of all possessions at ISIS checkpoints. Many are living in empty houses, schools, clinics, church compounds and abandoned buildings, with living conditions deteriorating.

CRS/Caritas Response CRS is providing humanitarian relief to 3,500 displaced Iraqi families in Ninewa. CRS works in close partnership with Caritas Iraq and is establishing a new joint office in Erbil, in addition to three locations in northern Iraq.

Impact to Date In June and July, CRS/Caritas Iraq provided 2,000 displaced families from Mosul with food, bedding and hygiene supplies.

A Call for Collective Action The lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi families are in peril and in need of meaningful interventions to prevent further catastrophe. CRS is seeking support for humanitarian efforts, which are critical to protecting and saving lives immediately, as well as preparing for the needs ahead. Pope Francis launched an appeal for unity, calling for “security, peace and a future of reconciliation and justice, where all Iraqis, whatever their religion, could build their nation together, creating a model of coexistence.” Iraqi bishops also issued a statement in July pleading for increased humanitarian assistance and protection of minorities.

CRS and Partner Response Strategy Over the next 6 months, CRS will provide the following support to 30,000 families, with a commitment of $650,000 in private funds. Based on the evolving needs on the ground and our ability to identify additional resources, CRS and Caritas Iraq will expand these critical efforts to more families and communities in dire need. Food, Water and Essential Living Supplies With people on the move and robbed of their belongings, many have no means to purchase the basics. In coordination with the United Nations and peer agencies, CRS and Caritas will provide food, water and living supplies.

Psychological and Social Support, and Trauma Healing Emotional trauma is high, especially among minorities who were the target of attacks. CRS and Caritas will carry out puppet methodology for trauma healing and the building of peaceful relations. This will involve training of staff and volunteers on skills and practices proven successful in similar backdrops. Activities will engage children as well as their parents.

Education for Internally Displaced Children The Ministry of Education requested help to ensure that all children are able to take their end-of-year exams in mid-August. Many children have missed months of school. CRS and Caritas will provide children with education and exam preparation, while helping schools with the influx of children.

Preparation for Longer-Term Resettlement CRS/Caritas is preparing for the long-term reality facing families: resettling in new locations, the onset of winter, safe and dignified shelter, and livelihood options, such as cash- for- work and vocational training.

You can donate to CRS here

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit…. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” -1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 26

“At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.” -USCCB

“[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.” -Sollicitudo rei Socialis, #38

“At another level, the roots of the contradiction between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic denial in practice lies in a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated individual in an absolute way, and gives no place to solidarity, to openness to others and service of them. . . It is precisely in this sense that Cain’s answer to the Lord’s question: “Where is Abel your brother?” can be interpreted: “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9). Yes, every man is his “brother’s keeper”, because God entrusts us to one another.” -Evangelium Vitae, #19

“The solidarity which binds all men together as members of a common family makes it impossible for wealthy nations to look with indifference upon the hunger, misery and poverty of other nations whose citizens are unable to enjoy even elementary human rights. The nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on one another and it will not be possible to preserve a lasting peace so long as glaring economic and social imbalances persist.” -Mater et Magistra, #157

“Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world.”

Ever-increasing globalization means that the human community constantly becomes more and more interconnected. We share resources and infrastructures on a daily basis–even with people on the opposite side of the world. Solidarity demands that we recognize this connectedness, and treat the global community correspondingly. Solidarity requires that we step outside our individualism, living not just for ourselves, and our immediate family and community, but for every human being.

Solidarity means being willing to sacrifice individual wants and desires for global needs, especially the basic needs of those who are most poor and vulnerable. Violence, war, oppression and victimizing structures beg for solidarity as a motivation and means for peace and justice to be found.

Solidarity takes our earlier themes of Human Life and Dignity, the Call to Family, Community, and Participation, the Dignity of Work, and the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, and expands them outward. It begs us to consider how each of these essential elements of Catholic life, love and action impacts the entire world.

Catholic Relief Services and Global Solidarity

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) gives the Church in the United States the opportunity to directly interact with our global neighbors, and live in community with them. By responding to the needs of our brothers and sisters, no matter where they live, we recognize them as neighbors, and help them out just as we would someone who lives down the street. CRS builds relationships between our immediate communities here in the U.S. and hundreds of communities throughout the world. Join our webcast to learn more!

Standing in Solidarity with the Christians of the Middle East

The Christian people of the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria, are facing horrifying persecutions right now. Although we, as individuals, have very little power to take action to protect these people, we cannot ignore the fact that they are living in desperation. We must do what we can to stand in solidarity with these people. As Catholics we cannot underestimate the power of praying and fasting for our brothers and sisters.

As we consider the connections between justice, peace, and solidarity, let’s remember how important it is that we remain a peaceful people, even in the midst of such horrible violence.

More reasons for Fair Trade

Solidarity is another theme from Catholic Social Teaching at the root of Fair Trade. Pope Benedict says, “It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act. Hence the consumer has a specific social responsibility,” and “it can be helpful to promote new ways of marketing products from deprived areas of the world, so as to guarantee their producers a decent return.” -Caritas in Veritate, #66

This is precisely what Fair Trade does: it creates and enforces systems of international trade that protect and respect all the human individuals involved, from the very first producers all the way to the end consumers, even if they’re thousands of miles apart. Fair Trade recognizes economic relationships as one of the essential parts of the global community, and works to make sure that international trade only builds up this community, rather than creating and perpetuation systems of oppression and abuse.

What does this have to do with me?

Reflect on the following questions:

In what ways does my life impact the global community?

What does it mean that I am my ‘brother’s keeper?’

Who is my brother/sister?

Do I take responsibility for him/her as solidarity requires?

What can I do to stand in solidarity with my neighbors–near and far–who most need it today?

How can I make this a part of my own life?

Share this post and join the #ProjectCST conversation with #Solidarity all week!

Join us on Tuesday, August 12, for a webcast to discussCatholic Relief Services and Global Solidarity with Jennifer Betz and Joanna Arellano.

After several years working abroad with Catholic Relief Services, Jennifer now works for the CRS Midwest office, focusing on engaging students in global solidarity. Joanna works here at the Office for Peace and Justice as Program Coordinator for CRS and CCHD, and led a CRS Immersion trip to Rwanda last year. We can’t wait to hear their experiences of global solidarity! Invite your friends, too!

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