Laura Fattal rolls a piece of Scotch tape, attaching a picture of her son and his two friends to a cardboard box. Her calm demeanor doesn’t give away the gravity of the situation and the reason why she’s in a New York hotel room with two other mothers.
Cindy Hickey, from left, Nora Shourd and Laura Fattal go to New York City to visit the Iranian mission.
Laura, Nora Shourd and Cindy Hickey have been brought together because their children have been held in Iran since July 31. They have had no contact with their families.
The mothers have put their lives on hold to get them freed.
“We are missing our kids very much,” says Fattal.
Hickey adds, “We’re moms, these are our kids … We have to be strong, we have to be grounded, and we have to do what needs to be done.”
The women decided what needed to be done was make a direct appeal through the Iranian mission in New York. To do that, they printed out petitions containing 2,500 signatures.
On the eve of delivering them, they worked in their room with boxes sprawled out on a bed as they stacked the petitions inside of them. They recognize names from preschool carpools and baby-sitting co-ops.
Nora Shourd read some of the message aloud.
“Releasing Sarah and Shane and Josh would be a merciful and compassionate gesture that their families would appreciate greatly.”
Another one reads: “The Iranians need to understand the young people are adventurous and intend no harm to their people.”
Cindy Hickey adds: “Before I go to bed at night, I read the petitions because they help bring strength to me.”
Hickey’s son Shane, a 27-year-old photojournalist, lives in Damascus, Syria with his girlfriend, 31-year-old Sarah Shourd, a teacher.
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