[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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