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July 3, 2007

Jimenez's mother visits Lawrence to thank city for its support

Yadira Betances

LAWRENCE | She came to see the yellow ribbons bearing her son's name on the city's school buildings.

She came to thank everyone who has prayed for his return | parents who can identify with her pain, churchgoers who have made him the focus of their thoughts, schoolchildren who have dedicated projects to him.

Maria del Rosario Duran came to Lawrence over the weekend to personally thank residents for the prayers and support they have shown her family while her son Army Spc. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence has been missing.

"I was overcome with emotions when I saw the yellow ribbons," Duran said. "It's a very important symbol and one which gives me a lot of hope that he may be freed and come home soon."

Jimenez, 25, and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., went missing in Iraq after their unit was ambushed south of Baghdad on May 12. A third missing soldier was found dead more than a week later.

Duran drove to Lawrence from Queens, N.Y., on Sunday afternoon with her sisters Regina, Griselda and Milady Duran, her youngest son, Bryant, 15, and two of her close friends. She made the one-day trip because she did not have to go to her job as a home health aide yesterday.

Duran drove past Lawrence schools and stopped at the Playstead on Lawrence Street, where baseball players observed a moment of silence for her son before beginning their game. She also publicly thanked the people of the city for their support.

After visiting friends and family members in Lawrence and Haverhill, Duran attended a 7 p.m. Spanish Mass at St. Patrick Church on South Broadway.

Duran is no stranger to the city. She lived on Kendrick Street when her son was small. The family moved to the Dominican Republic before moving to Queens, where she has lived since.

Her son attended Oliver School on Haverhill Street until he moved when in the fifth grade. He returned to Lawrence five or six years ago. Before enlisting in the Army, Jimenez lived on Water Street with his cousin.

Jimenez' father, Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, lives on Albion Street in Lawrence.

Duran said she is returning to New York with a renewed sense of strength.

"I'm going home satisfied by the signs of solidarity shown to my son and our family," she said.

And at home she and relatives and friends will continue their private vigil of prayer and hope that her son will return.

Army officials have changed Jimenez's status from "whereabouts unknown" to "missing/captured." The change does not mean the military has gained any new information about his whereabouts, but relatives were still notified of the development late last week.

The change reflects an official determination that Jimenez and Fouty were seized by hostile forces. The earlier designation is typically used when a soldier is missing but military officials have not confirmed the circumstances.

The Islamic State of Iraq, a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida, claimed on the Internet that all three of the missing soldiers, including Jimenez, were killed and buried, but offered no proof. Identification cards belonging to Jimenez and Fouty were found two weeks ago in an al-Qaida safehouse more than 100 miles from where they disappeared.

The change in their official status was seen as a good sign by family members.

As they wait for more definitive answers, the family of Jimenez continues to cling to their strong Catholic faith for strength.

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