Kucinich and Wife Return from Middle East After Talks With Leaders

Congressman first US Official to Tour Damage in Southern Lebanon:
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"A Message from Qana"

CLEVELAND (September 1) Congressman Dennis Kucinich, ranking member on the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, and his wife Elizabeth have just returned from a personal peace-building initiative in the Middle East. Their mission included war-torn Lebanon, where they met separately and at length with Lebanon Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, President Emile LaHoud, General Michel Aoun, former Prime Minister and now leader of the Progressive Patriotic Party; Fawzi Salloukh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Yacoub Sarrat, Minister of the Environment and former Prime Minister Selim Al-Hoss.

"There was unanimity among Lebanese leaders that now is the time to explore multiparty talks with hopes of achieving a breakthrough agreement for peace in the entire region. All felt that political negotiations were key, as opposed to use of force. Each official spoke of the necessity of lifting the blockade, addressing the status of the Shebaa Farms, engaging in an exchange of prisoners with Israel and obtaining maps of areas mined by the Israeli army.

The couple toured the heavily damaged suburban Beirut area where they witnessed the ruins of thousands of apartment dwellings and hundreds of businesses. Kucinich became perhaps the first US official to cross the Litani River, accompanying a humanitarian mission from the American University in Dubai delivering food, water and medical supplies deep into southern Lebanon.

"Village after village was reduced to piles of rubble. We saw thousands of destroyed homes. We also saw bombed out hospitals, schools, factories, churches, mosques, fire stations, gas stations, cars, bridges, roads, water systems, electric systems, banana plantations, and lemon groves," Kucinich said.

"In several villages we stopped and walked through piles of concrete and dust from what had once been homes. Public areas were littered with unexploded cluster bombs and land mines. The smell of death was everywhere. Homes still standing upon closer inspection had holes in the walls from artillery shells.

One of the most emotionally wrenching moments came at 10 o'clock at night as they arrived in the village of Qana, the Cana of biblical lore where Christ performed the first of his miracles, changing water into wine. One of the greatest tragedies of war befell a house in Qana where a 1,000 pound bomb exploded and collapsed the structure crushing dozens of women and children who had sought shelter in the basement.

Kucinich and his wife went to pay respects to the dead as a graveyard in the center of the village was lit by automobile headlights. They walked by several rows of graves, each with a picture of someone killed in the bombing. One picture was of four members of the same family. Buried were a mother and her three children. As Kucinich quietly wept, a hand reached around his shoulder to console him. It was the man who lost his wife and three children.

Kucinich and his wife were lead away from the graves across the road and down a very narrow street, over piles of debris from the blast and to the scene of the disaster. Some children's' clothing and bomb fragments were still visible in the rubble. A crowd quickly gathered as it was learned that an American congressman had come to the village. Soon nearly fifty villagers surrounded the couple, including many who had lost family members through what they believed was an American-made bomb.

Elizabeth Kucinich said: "Dennis and I will never forget what followed. Here we stood in the darkness, surrounded by people who suffered great loss, who had every right to express anger or even rage, yet instead they expressed remarkable depth of forgiveness, compassion and a desire for peace and reconciliation, calling out from the crowd through interpreters: "We do not hate America. We love the American people. We do not like what your government does. Please tell the American people that we are not terrorists. We do not hate Israel. We want to be safe in our village. We want to be left alone. We want peace." The couple promised to take the message from Qana back to the United States.

A last minute flight cancellation forced the couple to travel to Israel overnight, 11 hours by car, across Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. In Israel they met with directors and policy advisors of the State of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem and discussed the war, security and Israeli casualties. The Kuciniches had hoped to visit the affected areas in northern Israel but were told by Israeli officials that there would not be much to see because repairs were almost completed. In the Palestinian town of Ramallah, they met with a small group of government officials and representatives of NGOs. They also met with Suheil Dawani, Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem and his wife.

In July, when the war broke out, Kucinich quickly organized a group of 36 House members who sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 450, which called upon the administration to seek immediate ceasefire and to help convene multi-party talks in the region, with no preconditions. Last week Kucinich called for an end to the blockade of Lebanon.

Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich plan to issue a series of reports on their visits to the region, as part of their effort to craft the elements of a peace plan for the region.

Congressman Kucinich is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations

Digital photographs are available on request.
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