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| Building A Bridge ... this time to Iraq |
| Building A Bridge ... this time to Iraq |
| “The human journey is a test, a challenge, and we have only one lifetime to prove whether we can try to get past the hate and look for the goodness” – Sami Rosouli |
In our world of cultural value clashes, of left and right, of red and blue, of who God loves or judges, there is a story that is just starting its second chapter and it has the characteristics of the St. Joan of Arc Faith Community written all over it. The first chapter started back in the late 1990’s when members of the St. Joan of Arc Peace group encountered a man in his early 50’s, who like them was interested in the cause of peace. His motives were more personal because his homeland was Iraq and he is Arab by birth. His name is Sami Rosouli and he plans with the help of some members of the St. Joan of Arc Community to link his journey to ours.
In a recent issue of the Minneapolis Start Tribune (November 14, 2004) was a wonderful story of making a difference, written by Jon Tevlin. It featured Sami Rosouli and his decision to go home to Iraq, his country of origin. As a young man Sami was a math teacher who traveled and through a series of life decisions married and had three children. A hearing defect in one of his children brought him to the United States and to his relatives in the Twin Cities. Sami started over again, first as a taxi driver and then in time as a restaurant owner. Not just any restaurant but Sinbad’s which became the cultural crossroads between Minnesotans and the Middle East. The paper said he was one of the forerunners in introducing Arab culture to Minnesota. Sami became someone other immigrants turned to for help and Minnesotans came to him to better understand the cultural wisdom of the Middle East.
Defining himself as an activist and a man of peace, it wasn’t long before Sami met up other like-minded individuals. Because of his desire for peace for his people, he has come to know many of the longtime peace activists in the Twin Cities, many of who sit in the gym chairs at St. Joan of Arc on Sunday mornings. Marie Braun and her husband John, along with Polly Mann have decided to explore ways to help Sami and his people in their search for peace. On a sunny November Monday Marie Braun(right) recently sat down with Sami for a videotaping and they talked about many things. Marie asked Sami why he decided years ago to come to America and he laughingly said because of the music of John Lennon. Once here in Minneapolis he attempted to build a life but it was as a Moslem and a minority. As the story in the Star Tribune reports, not all Minnesotans have been receptive to difference and the pre-emptive war with Iraq has made it more difficult. But that is not why Sami has decided to return to Iraq, it is because he sees his nation in shambles and his people in such great need. He wants to help. “We have only one lifetime to get past the hate.” Sami isn’t making any promises because he does not know what he will encounter when he returns home. He has sisters and a large extended family that will help him. He may try to find a teaching job, he is just not sure yet. He knows that for now he must do what he can to help with the psychic cleanup of his war-torn country.
A week later after working on an interview tape with Marie Braun, Sami came to another meeting at St. Joan of Arc and this time he was carrying a handful of checks from colleges and individuals who were interested in his efforts to help his people. “We will start first with e-mail and will can build our relationship that way.” So modern and yet so ancient, St. Paul built the early church the same way only with letters to various small communities. Sami did talk about the danger but also the possibility of sending needed supplies to neighboring Jordan where he could drive to pick them up. “I need to go back and assess what I can do and in what way I can help and how concerned Americans can help. We will build a bridge.”
A relationship with the Iraqi people is not a new idea. Marie Braun had visited Iraq in 1998. Since then other delegations went to Iraq. Karin and Jeff Grosscup’s son Ben went there and so did Gene and Mary Lou Ott. Now the current conflict has made it all but impossible for Americans to go to Iraq on any kind of humanitarian project. But Sami Rosouli’s announced return to Najaf creates possibilities for St. Joan of Arc WAMM Peacemakers and their Twin City Peace Campaign.
Beyond the gathering, singing and sacramental liturgies of Sundays, St. Joan of Arc Community has quietly gone international in some of efforts to minister to others. First it was a sister parish with Guatemala, then others from the community traveled to South Africa and others to Haiti. Some have made four and five trips to build the relationship with these third world communities. In the past year and half, some parishioners have gone to Palestine and Israel. Each of these outreach efforts has its own uniqueness and ministry but they start with encounters with people like Sami who see the world as a brotherhood or sisterhood and who believe the word “pre-emptive” should be about peace and justice.
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| “I’m going to miss the beautiful people here, the beautiful experience I enjoyed in this country. But I want to go there for the love of the country and people, and to continue to reflect on the successes I’ve had here. The human journey is a test, a challenge, and we have only one lifetime to prove whether we can try to get past the hate and look for the goodness.” - (Quoted from the Minneapolis Tribute’s article by Jon Tevlin, November 14, 2004). |