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| Iraq | |
| Iraq Christians fleeing jihadists long for exile | |
| 2014-08-13 | |
[Al Ahram] Iraqi Christians who fled a jihadist onslaught and are packed several families to a room in a church in Kurdistan have lost hope in their country and long to emigrate.
"I want to leave Iraq," she said. Speaking to AFP in the garden of Ainkawa's Saint Joseph church, on the outskirts of Arbil, Salwa is among the tens of thousands of Christians who have in recent weeks sought refuge near the Kurdish capital. She said most of her extended family fled Iraq's largest Christian town of Qaraqosh last week, as attacking jihadists offered them a bleak choice. "They said either we convert or we flee," said Salwa. "Only a few stayed behind, because they were too sick or old to walk. They are locked up in the houses." Salwa said she held little hope her lot would improve with the US air strikes on jihadist positions in the area. "The IS has attacked Christians three times in the past three months alone. We are vulnerable here, we have no real guarantees. And I want safety for my children," she said, clad in a blue jalabiyah (traditional robe) as she sat at the entrance of the pre-fab shed she now calls home. Her 22-year-old daughter Sarah, who is pregnant with her fourth child, echoed her despair. "We fled the (jihadist) shelling on Qaraqosh with nothing except the clothes on our backs. We walked for hours in the dark, the children wailing with hunger," said Sarah, forcing a smile as she described the terror. A 74-year-old nun, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, was also among the displaced. "I have seen many wars in my lifetime, but I have never seen anything like this. I understand that people want to leave Iraq, even though it is our home," she said, clothed in a white robe with a wooden rosary hanging from her pocket. In an open letter published Sunday, the Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon said there are 70,000 displaced Christians in Ainkawa alone. "The level of disaster is extreme," wrote Louis Raphael Sako, who also heads Iraq's Catholic bishops assembly. "Something should be done to save this people who have their history in this land from their beginnings." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 OWG Global Federal Union(s) > Proposed "PERSIAN GULF", "MIDDLE EAST", + "ISLAMIC" UNIONS, ...@ETC. = NO JEWS [ergo NO STATE OF ISRAEL ALLOWED IN "UNION(S)"?] = NO CHRISTIANS = NO NON-MUSLIMS??? Period??? * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Catholic Online] CATHOLICS KILLED AT MASS IN IRAQ, EXTREMIST MUSLIMS INVADE CHURCH, MURDER PRIESTS. Circa 50 Persons repor killed in the attack. * RUSSIA TODAY > "ISLAMIC STATE" SUPPORTERS LEAFLET CENTRAL LONDON, DECLARING "DAWN OF A NEW ERA". TO AMERIKA THEN - THEY'LL BE SAFE THERE! Oh wait ... ... |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-08-13 22:54 |
| #10 France offered to take in the Christians. They may not have thought it was quite so many, though. I wonder if Israel would want some to replace the Thais, et al who replaced the Palestinians after the security walls went up. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-08-13 16:33 |
| #9 Problem with the Gulf States is that big Qatari money is supposedly deep into ISIS development & support. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-08-13 15:39 |
| #8 the gulf states seem more intolerant than iran in my eyes. |
| Posted by: Paul D 2014-08-13 13:52 |
| #7 The Catholic Church world-wide is mobilizing to support these folks, and hopefully find them new homes. Its sad that they are being forced from millennia of peaceful existence in their original homeland. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-08-13 13:32 |
| #6 Too bad. Baraq Hussein lets millions of undocumented Mexican invaders into this country but a hand full of Christans from Iraq? Not so much. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2014-08-13 11:22 |
| #5 How insecure can one religion be? They just like killing people. Always did. Muhammad just gave them an excuse. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-08-13 08:33 |
| #4 Paul D, Very. Think of Stalin and Mao. Anyone who questioned their absolute authority was a threat and had to be eliminated. Now multiply that by 10 and you get Islam. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-08-13 08:08 |
| #3 Why is islam so intolerant to other religions? How insecure can one religion be? |
| Posted by: Paul D 2014-08-13 02:19 |
| #2 Stomp the dust and dirt off your feet as you leave. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2014-08-13 01:48 |
| #1 their history in this land from their beginnings Maybe it's time to tap the dust of that land off your sandals and make a new beginning somewhere else. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-08-13 00:23 |