[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S888-S889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING KAYLA JEAN MUELLER

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise today to mourn the tragic death of 
26-year-old humanitarian aid worker Kayla Jean Mueller of Prescott, AZ, 
who had been held by ISIL terrorists in Syria since August of 2013.
  I am heartbroken for the Mueller family at the loss of their 
beautiful, beloved Kayla. The thoughts and prayers of the people of her 
home State of Arizona, our country, and the civilized world are with 
the Mueller family at this terrible hour.
  I want to take the time today to share a bit of Kayla's story. This 
wonderful young woman represented the best of us. She had a remarkable 
impact on the lives of so many people who never had the honor of 
meeting her, and her story will forever be an inspiration to us.
  Kayla attended high school at Tri-City College Prep in Prescott, AZ, 
where she was recognized as a National Young Leader and received the 
President's Award For Academic Excellence in 2007, the Yavapai County 
Community Foundation Youth Philanthropist of the Year Award in 2005, 
and the Gold Presidential Volunteer Award in 2007 for her volunteer 
efforts with Youth Count, AmeriCorps, America's Promise, Open Inn for 
troubled youth, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and other organizations.
  After graduating from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in 
2009, Kayla committed her life to helping people in need around the 
world--first in India, then Israel, the Palestinian territories, and 
back home in Prescott where she volunteered at an HIV-AIDS clinic, and 
a women's shelter. But it was the conflict in Syria that drew Kayla's 
greatest interest and, again, sparked her desire to help those in need. 
In a YouTube video she made in October 2011, as the Syrian civil war 
was just beginning, Kayla said:

       I am in solidarity with the Syrian people. I reject the 
     brutality and killing that the Syrian authorities are 
     committing against the Syrian people. Because silence is 
     participation in this crime, I declare my participation in 
     the Syrian sit-in on YouTube.

  In December 2012, Kayla traveled to the Turkish-Syrian border where 
she worked for months helping the thousands of Syrian refugees whose 
lives were torn apart by the humanitarian catastrophe created by Bashar 
al-Assad and the Syrian civil war.
  According to her family, Kayla found this work heartbreaking but 
compelling. She was extremely devoted to the people of Syria and their 
struggle. Kayla explained to her family her call to service this way. 
She said:

       I find God in the suffering eyes reflected in mine. If this 
     is how you are revealed to me, this is how I will forever 
     seek you. I will always seek God. Some people find God in 
     church. Some people find God in nature. Some people find God 
     in love; I find God in suffering. I've known for some time 
     what my life's work is, using my hands as tools to relieve 
     suffering.

  When Kayla traveled back home to visit her family in Arizona in May 
of 2013, she spoke about her experiences at the Prescott Kiwanis Club 
where her father was a member. After recalling helping a Syrian man, 
whose wife had been murdered, to reunite with a 6-year-old relative he 
was desperately searching for after their refugee camp was bombed, 
Kayla said:

       This story is not rare in Syria. This is the reality for 
     Syrians two and a half years on. When Syrians hear I'm an 
     American, they ask, ``Where is the world?'' All I can do is 
     cry with them, because I don't know.

  After spending time with the refugees, Kayla told the Kiwanis Club 
she was totally drawn in, and that she ``can't do enough'' to help. She 
recalled stories of children being hurt by unexploded bombs, women 
forced into early marriages, elementary schools targeted for bombing by 
the Syrian regime, and people living in caves to escape the bombing.
  Kayla went on. She said:

       Syrians are dying by the thousands, and they're fighting 
     just to talk about the rights we have. . . . For as long as I 
     live, I will not let this suffering be normal. [I will not 
     let this be] something we just accept. It's important to stop 
     and realize what we have, why we have it and how privileged 
     we are. And from that place, start caring and get a lot done.

  She described part of her work helping the Syrian children in the 
refugee camps--including drawing, painting, and playing with the 
children, many of whom were badly scarred physically and 
psychologically by the war.
  She said:

       We give and get joy from playing with these children. Half 
     the 1.5 million refugees the U.N. has registered are 
     children. In the chaos of waking up in the middle of the 
     night and being shelled, we're hearing of more children being 
     separated from their families by accident.

  Asked by Kiwanis members what her recommendations for addressing the 
conflict were, Kayla said, ``A no-fly zone over refugee camps would be 
number one.''
  Kayla also believed if the terrible reality of the conflict were 
better known to Americans, our Nation would be more heavily engaged. 
``The people of the United States would see that something needs to be 
done,'' she said.
  Today the Mueller family released a letter written to them by Kayla 
in the spring of 2014. I want to read a bit of it to give a sense of 
this young woman, her deep faith in God, her profound love for her 
family, and her remarkable strength in the face of grave danger.
  She wrote: I remember mom always telling me that all in all, in the 
end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in 
experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself 
to our Creator because literally there was no one else. By God and by 
your prayers, I have felt tenderly cradled in free fall. I have been 
shown in darkness and light and have learned that even in prison one 
can be free. I am grateful. I have to see that there is good in every 
situation; sometimes we just have to look for it. I pray each day that, 
if nothing else, you have felt a certain closeness and surrender to God 
as well and have formed a bond of love and support amongst one another. 
I miss you all as if it had been a decade of forced separation.
  Kayla closed with these words: The thought of your pain is the source 
of my own. Simultaneously, the hope of our reunion is the source of my 
strength. Please be patient. Give your pain to God. I know you would 
want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I am doing. Do not fear 
for me; continue to pray, as will I. By God's will we will be together 
soon. All my everything, Kayla.
  In a statement today, the Mueller family reflected on Kayla's life 
and their commitment to work every day to honor her legacy:

       Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She 
     dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in 
     need of freedom, justice and peace. Kayla was drawn to help 
     those displaced by the Syrian civil war. She first traveled 
     to Turkey in December 2012 to provide humanitarian aid to 
     Syrian refugees. She told us of the great joy she took in 
     helping Syrian children and their families. We are so proud 
     of the person Kayla was and the work she did while she was 
     here with us. She lived with purpose and we will work every 
     day to honor her legacy. Our hearts are breaking for our only 
     daughter, but we will continue on in peace, dignity and love 
     for her.

  On behalf of the people of Arizona and the Congress of the United 
States, I express our deepest condolences to Kayla's parents, Marsha 
and Carl Mueller, her loving family, and many friends. Our thoughts and 
prayers are with you. Kayla devoted her young life to helping people in 
need around the world, to healing the sick, and bringing light to some 
of the darkest and most desperate places on Earth. She will never be 
forgotten.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter written by Kayla during her 
imprisonment to her family be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Everyone, If you are receiving this letter it means I am 
     still detained but my cell mates (starting from 11/2/2014) 
     have been released. I have asked them to contact you + send 
     you this letter. It's hard to know what to say.

[[Page S889]]

     Please know that I am in a safe location, completely unharmed 
     + healthy (put on weight in fact); I have been treated w/ the 
     utmost respect + kindness. I wanted to write you all a well 
     thought out letter (but I didn't know if my cell mates would 
     be leaving in the coming days or the coming months 
     restricting my time but primarily) I could only but write the 
     letter a paragraph at a time, just the thought of you all 
     sends me into a fit of tears. If you could say I have 
     ``suffered'' at all throughout this whole experience it is 
     only in knowing how much suffering I have put you all 
     through; I will never ask you to forgive me as I do not 
     deserve forgiveness. I remember mom always telling me that 
     all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I 
     have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of 
     the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator b/c 
     literally there was no else . . . . + by God + by your 
     prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall. I have been 
     shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, 
     one can be free. I am grateful. I have come to see that there 
     is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look 
     for it. I pray each each day that if nothing else, you have 
     felt a certain closeness + surrender to God as well + have 
     formed a bond of love + support amongst one another . . . I 
     miss you all as if it has been a decade of forced separation. 
     I have had many a long hour to think, to think of all the 
     things I will do w/ Lex, our first family camping trip, the 
     first meeting @ the airport. I have had many hours to think 
     how only in your absence have I finally @ 25 years old come 
     to realize your place in my life. The gift that is each one 
     of you + the person I could + could not be if you were not a 
     part of my life, my family, my support. I DO NOT want the 
     negotiations for my release to be your duty, if there is any 
     other option take it, even if it takes more time. This should 
     never have become your burden. I have asked these women to 
     support you; please seek their advice. If you have not done 
     so already, [REDACTED] can contact [REDACTED] who may have a 
     certain level of experience with these people. None of us 
     could have known it would be this long but know I am also 
     fighting from my side in the ways I am able + I have a lot of 
     fight left inside of me. I am not breaking down + I will not 
     give in no matter how long it takes. I wrote a song some 
     months ago that says, ``The part of me that pains the most 
     also gets me out of bed, w/out your hope there would be 
     nothing left . . .'' aka--The thought of your pain is the 
     source of my own, simultaneously the hope of our reunion is 
     the source of my strength. Please be patient, give your pain 
     to God. I know you would want me to remain strong. That is 
     exactly what I am doing. Do not fear for me, continue to pray 
     as will I + by God's will we will be together soon.
           All my everything,
                                                            Kayla.

  Mr. McCAIN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, can the Chair tell me what the status of 
the floor is and how much time I have to speak.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business with 20-
minute grants.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. I thank the Chair.

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