To the honorable President and Members of the Emigrants' Convention:

In the name of the Iraqi Women's Union, which embraces all the women's associations at work in Iraq, I have the honor to present this letter of ours, expressing to you the deep impression your convention has left upon every individual of the Arab homelands. You have opened a new era for the world by your joint visit to the land of your fathers and forefathers. In this step is a singular gesture that will lead us to acquaintance, understanding, and cooperation in the cause of goodness, mercy, and peace in the world. You mentioned all these lofty purposes in the course of your noble speeches, and great was our appreciation of the generous feeling they contained and the sincere desire to serve the causes of the Arab homelands. We were particularly moved by that eloquent sentence in the speech of the President, Mr. Faris, at the opening ceremony, in which he declared the readiness of each one of you to be, in his own person, a living message for our country in the New World.

We have many problems whose solution we strive hard to achieve; but the tragedy, the greatest problem, which has overshadowed all other problems and which today shakes the peace and stability of our lands and our peoples, is without doubt "the refugee question." You have seen with your own eyes, in the encampments pitched in Lebanon, painful scenes that crush the heart. The cause of these people is a vital cause for all the Arab countries; the proof of it is that the most important resolution taken by the Arab League at its recent meetings in Alexandria was a unanimous decision unifying the action of the Arab states at the meeting of the United Nations organization at Lake Success, and an agreement to demand that the question of the return of the refugees to Palestine and the payment of the compensation due to them be placed on the agenda.

Nor shall we conceal from you that the program of action adopted by the General Arab Women's Union at the meeting of the delegates of the Arab countries at the end of July in Lebanon includes a resolution that effort must be continued to influence the men of power and standing in the matter of this cause.

Gentlemen:

Tell the New World, when you leave the original homeland and the heritage of the forefathers, that the blessed spot which was the cradle of prophecy and of the Message has become today a center of misery and homelessness and a wellspring of pains and sorrows. Acquaint your kin and your fellow citizens with the secrets of that tragedy, of which your countries know so little, and strive to form an organized publicity front whose voice will reach the government and all the influential bodies, speaking the principles of justice and mercy. In the name of humanity and honor I appeal to the dear members of the Emigrants' Convention to save our Palestinian brothers from the injustice of homelessness, the shame of beggary, the tyranny of want, the misery of sickness, and the pains of despair... This does not mean that we ask a gift — for all bounty perishes with time, and generosity alone will not end the problem. The United Nations organization will soon meet in your country, and the duty of honor and brotherhood requires you to stand by the delegates of the Arab countries in holding fast to the rights of these unfortunates. You have seen the tragedy with your own eyes, you have heard from us what suffices, and you have grasped that this cause must have a just and speedy solution... We shall leave to you the choice of the best ways of reaching this lofty end, but we hope that the methods of your publicity will embrace everything that will secure support for our point of view with government and people alike. You know best the mentality of your peoples, and know best the methods that will affect them continuously and fruitfully. And how good it would be if every one of your houses over there became a center raising the voice of right and spreading abroad the moaning of the refugees, to waken the conscience of humanity.

This, gentlemen, is our great message to the New World. If you can deliver it as we beg and hope, yours will be the pride of saving your stricken Arab brother and the honor of wiping away the stain of shame which the catastrophe of Palestine has stamped upon the brow of humanity.

May God fulfill our hopes in you.

President of the Iraqi Delegation Ismat al-Abd