In Queens, family and friends of soldiers and military personnel who have died or disappeared in Iraq established a support group to connect with others who are in similar circumstances.
The group – Council of Family and Friends of Dead and Missing Military Personnel in War – will have its official headquarters in Corona, where the mothers of three Latino soldiers live, two of whom have died, and one whose location is still unknown.
The idea of organizing a support-group came about from family and friends who joined Maria Duran’s vigil. Duran’s 25-year-old son, Alex Jimenez, a Corona resident, disappeared on May 12 in Iraq.
Duran took a break from her work as a home health aide in Sunnyside to tell El Correo that, “I think it is important that family and friends of soldiers know that a support group exists, and that they are welcome to join. This is why we decided to join forces, because we all share the same pain.”
With the pain and anguish that fills her heart, Maria Duran’s life goes on because “you have to keep moving forward, and I can only pray to God every night.”
A few blocks from Duran’s house in Corona, there are two mothers who have lived and continue to live through the same pain. Gladys Ciro, who lost her son, Marlon Bustamante, 25, on February 1, 2006, when an explosive went off near his Humvee in Iraq, and Maria Gomez, mother of Jose Gomez, 23, who was killed on April 28, 2006, in combat.
“We are going through very difficult moments because our children are in Iraq. Many mothers have come to me, desperate to find a hand to hold for support. What people often need is to be heard and listened to, find comfort and peace in these difficult moments,” said Duran, who was full of strength and valor.
Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens), who has been close to the soldiers’ families, accompanying them in their time of grief, will serve on the group’s board of directors.
“These mothers share a common hurt. To me, it’s important to share that pain, too,” said Monserrate.
For now, Mayor Bloomberg will name Roger Newman, first commissioner of the Office of Veteran Affairs, to work with the council. The budget for the group has yet to be discussed publicly.
Yoselin Genao, a resident of East Elmhurst and friend of the Duran family, has been attending the council’s preliminary meetings and has witnessed the connection among the mothers.
“They are the only ones who know and understand their pain, what they have lived through in terms of courage, hope, and anger,” Genao said.
Besides offering emotional support, the group hopes to orient soldiers’ families around rights and benefits when they return home. According to official data, 65 soldiers from New York have died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Often, when soldiers return, they don’t have anywhere to go. After all their sacrifice, our soldiers are left with nothing, not even their on home in which to live,” said Miguel Lopez, executive secretary for Latin American Political Corporation (COPOLA) and coordinator of the next council meeting.
Alirio Orduna, an ex-soldier who fought in Vietnam, the Cold War, and a current commander of the New York Military Youth Cadets in Elmhurst, supports Duran’s initiative. He hopes that Duran can serve as a model for others.
“My goal is not only local but national,” said Orduna.
