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WILKES-BARRE — Dr. Raymond Khoudary talks to his brothers in Syria often.
He hears about what it’s like living in fear in your homeland, not knowing what the next day may bring.
That’s why Khoudary is leading the effort to bring awareness and aid to the people of Syria, many who are refugees in their own country. Many of been forced to flee their homes, their neighborhoods, their towns to seek safety in the war torn region.
The situation is difficult for Americans to comprehend. We can’t imagine what it’s like having little, if any control over one’s life — to be without the freedoms we too often take for granted.
Khoudary has arranged to bring a program to Wilkes-Barre. It’s called “Easing Suffering and Offering Hope in Syria and the Middle East.” It will be presented at King’s College on April 19 by the Jesuit Refugee Service, an organization that provides aid to displaced people in Syria and throughout the world.
Father Michael Zammit, Jesuit Refugee Service Regional Director for the Mideast and North Africa, and Father Nawras Sammour, Jesuit Refugee Service National Director for Syria, will address the mission of JRS in the Middle East — easing suffering and offering hope to all communities in the midst of a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Khoudary, 54, is an allergy and immunology specialist with offices on River Street, Plains Township. He said news headlines often paint a dark picture of worsening religious, ethnic and political divisions resulting in massive displacement as the Syria crisis enters its fifth year.
Amid this humanitarian catastrophe, Khoudary says, Jesuit Refugee Service is working with volunteers and staff of all communities and faiths.
JRS holds aloft “a light of hope, solidarity, and reconciliation both within Syria and in the neighboring countries hosting millions of Syrian refugees.”
Zammit and Sammour will give personal testimony to the challenges of meeting the basic human needs of these vulnerable people living in a dangerous and often chaotic environment. Khoudary said they will share the inspiration they derive from the example of those Syrians who risk so much to help others, and the communities who open their hearts to provide refuge to the stranger.
JRS assists refugees, internally displaced persons, and local communities in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, providing emergency assistance, education, psycho-social support and healthcare.
This really hits home with Khoudary. He has two brothers — Elias, 58, and Kamal, 57, living in Aleppo, the city of about 2 million where the Khoudary family has called home. Khoudary talks to his brothers often. He hears about the struggles they have and the fear. Each of his brothers has two children. They still live in their homes in a large apartment building in Aleppo.
Khoudary hears how electricity and water are available only for maybe an hour per day and not every day. He hears how difficult it is to obtain supplies like food, water and medical needs.
“They hear the bombs every day,” Khoudary said. “So far, their homes have only suffered some broken glasses and minor damage.”
But it could get worse at any time. The terrorist group ISIS is ever-present. No one can predict what will happen.
Khoudary’s mother, Camila, is 82. She has traveled to the United State often. She has been here for more than one year now, but her heart and mind is always in Syria. She thinks about her sons, her grandchildren, her homeland.
Khoudary’s father, Amin, died four years ago. Khoudary couldn’t go to the funeral because of the unrest.
Awareness is key to finding help, he said. And donations, too.
The situation is grim, but Khoudary and people like longtime friend Frank Nackley, want to do what they can to convince others to help.
“The best gift you can give is to someone you don’t know, who you have never met, with no expectation of anything in return,” Khoudary said.
The Wilkes-Barre program is one of five that Zammit and Sammour are hosting in the U.S. The others are in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Scranton.
“We need to focus on this human tragedy,” Khoudary said. “My brothers want to stay in Syria. Living there is not easy.”