[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





         HONORING THE WORK OF THE VALLEY SYRIA RELIEF COMMITTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 2021

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise in appreciation of the efforts of 
my constituents to educate their fellow Americans about the human 
consequences of more than a decade of horrendous armed conflict in 
Syria and to provide support to the Syrian people.
  The crisis in Syria has faded from the headlines here in the U.S. But 
my constituents understand that democracy and justice, at home and 
abroad, depend on the commitment and participation of engaged American 
citizens. They have not given up, and neither must we.
  Their efforts are well described in a column by Sara Weinberger of 
the Valley Syria Relief Committee, published on November 15 in the 
Daily Hampshirite Gazette, and which I would like to include in the 
Record.

                    Human Rights in Syria Hits Home

                          (By Sara Weinberger)

       ``It was 11:15 a.m. on Sept. 30th. I was one of six heads 
     on the Zoom screen. Michael Kane, Micky McKinley, Debbie 
     Shriver and I stared in silence. The four of us comprised The 
     Valley Syrian Relief Committee.
       ``Sharing the screen were two of Congressman Jim McGovern's 
     staff. We had requested the meeting to give the congressman 
     an update on the war in Syria, now in its 11th year, and to 
     ask that he raise his voice in Congress to save Syrian lives.
       ``What we didn't know was that McGovern had spent the 
     morning trying to pass a stopgap bill on the last day of the 
     fiscal year to prevent a government shutdown. Not a great day 
     for our meeting, I thought, imagining a preoccupied McGovern 
     politely listening to our presentation, while his mind was 
     elsewhere. Apologizing for his late arrival, he left his 
     morning crisis at the door, and for the next hour listened 
     intently, asked questions, and showed us that the purpose of 
     our visit genuinely mattered.
       ``In 2011, Syrians, inspired by our democratic form of 
     government, demonstrated in defiance of the authoritarian 
     regime of Syria's brutal dictator, Bashar Al Assad. They have 
     been paying for it ever since with their lives and their 
     livelihoods, with a whole generation of traumatized children 
     who have lost loved ones, ran for refuge from barrel bombs, 
     and tried to hold unto hope in a place that many have deemed 
     a hell on earth. Yet, with our own country's democracy in 
     peril, garnering interest in longstanding wars on the other 
     side of the world can be a challenge.
       ``This was not the case in our own community, where several 
     hundred of McGovern's constituents have faithfully 
     demonstrated their commitment and concern for the welfare of 
     Syrians since 2014. In September 2015, they filled the 
     sanctuary of First Churches for our first big event, ``Songs 
     for Syria'' to raise funds for the Syrian American Medical 
     Society. We reminded McGovern of the hundreds who accepted 
     our invitations to educate members of his district's 
     interfaith organizations, who broke bread with us, shared 
     soup, and bought copies of ``The Soup for Syria'' cookbook, 
     produced by local publisher Michel Moushabeck.
       ``Folks from Franklin and Hampshire counties shipped a 
     container filled with everything from diapers, to winter 
     clothing, to shoes and boots to enable refugees and displaced 
     people living in tents to survive the long Syrian winter. 
     Actions led to more actions: groups gathered to write 
     personal letters of hope to assure Syrian children and their 
     families that they are not alone.
       ``Rebecca Leopold's students at Amherst Regional High 
     School formed the Refugees in Distress Club, developing a 
     curriculum to educate younger students about the situation in 
     Syria. With the help of our partners at the Washington, D.C.-
     based Syrian Emergency Task Force, Mazen Al-Hamuda, spent a 
     day at ARHS openly shared his traumatic story of the physical 
     and emotional scars of brutal torture he endured in a Syrian 
     prison.
       ``The above stories only scratch the surface of the many 
     actions the residents of Congressional District 2 engaged in 
     on behalf of the Syrian people. Their efforts allowed the 
     Valley Syrian Relief Committee to raise more than $200,000 
     for humanitarian assistance and bring internationally known 
     experts to inform and engage people in efforts to make sure 
     the people of Syria are not forgotten.
       ``Pivoting to Zoom in 2020, our supporters generously 
     donated funds to purchase two school buses to serve as an 
     evacuation vehicle when the bombs start falling, an ambulance 
     to get medical help for injured children, and of course, to 
     transport the young children to their beloved Wisdom House 
     School.
       ``There was heartbreak too. The news of Mazen Al Hamouda's 
     disappearance in Syria broke all of our hearts, especially 
     those of the students who fell in love with the lanky man 
     with dark shadows under his eyes. Mazen's legacy will live on 
     with some of these students, who went on to college to major 
     in human rights and international relations. They will be the 
     future peacebuilders, replacing dictatorships with civil 
     societies in Syria and beyond.
       ``McGovern has been an ally for the Syrian people. He has 
     organized programs for his congressional colleagues and 
     others through the Lantos Human Rights Commission, to 
     showcase Syrian heroes such as Caesar, who smuggled thousands 
     of photographs of brutalized bodies of imprisoned Syrians, to 
     expose to the world the war crimes of the Assad regime. We 
     were moved by the genuine feelings expressed at the end of 
     our meeting, when McGovern reminding his colleagues in 
     Congress that they must recommit to bringing about an end to 
     the carnage.
       ``Our own country is on a precipice, with democracy hanging 
     by a thread. Recently, I have become aware that what has 
     happened in Syria could one day envelop our own country. 
     Fascism is rearing its ugly head on every continent. Aligning 
     ourselves to support those who are suffering can grow an 
     international movement for human rights. It begins in 
     communities like those in western Massachusetts, with those 
     who actively uphold the humanity of our brothers and sisters, 
     no matter where they live.''

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