[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVILIAN DEATHS AT QANA, 
                                LEBANON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 25, 2006

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, the violent death of innocent civilians not 
involved in military hostilities is an appalling human tragedy. For 
decades, the violence in the Middle East has claimed a multitude of 
innocent civilian victims: Men, women and children, Arab and Israeli. 
It is with great sorrow that we remember one such incident that 
occurred just over ten years ago in Qana, Lebanon. A number of my 
constituents lost precious relatives on that day, April 18, 1996. 
Aboudi and Hati Bitar of Dearborn, Michigan, ages 7 and 9, were 
visiting their grandmother at Qana when they were killed. On the 
occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Qana incident, we solemnly 
remember and mourn the loss of these innocent children and the hundreds 
of others who were killed or wounded on that tragic day. On behalf of 
Michigan's 14th Congressional District, my family and I offer our 
support and prayers to the Bitar family and to the many others who lost 
loved ones at Qana.
  When it comes to civilian deaths, violent hostilities play no 
favorites. I call on my colleagues to pause to remember the civilian 
victims that the violence in the Middle East has claimed on all sides. 
Let us remind ourselves that this carnage among the innocent will 
continue until America makes a stronger effort to help resolve the 
issues that have bred the violence there.

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