[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] When ISIS took over the Nineveh plains in northern Iraq in 2014, terrorized Christian residents fled in fear of their lives.Six years later, despite liberation from ISIS, many Christians have not returned home and are leaving Iraq altogether - prompting concern that Christianity’s 2,000 year presence in the country could be under threat.
A 1987 government census listed 1.4 million Christians in Iraq, but following the outbreak of war, ISIS, and continuing political instability in the country, Christians now number around 200,000, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.
As numbers decrease "rapidly," Iraqi Christian Maryam Binyamen said she feels hopeless.
"We are facing a total extinction, I assume. Not the church nor the government can do anything about it. No opportunities, no jobs, security issues...this is sad," Binyamen said in an interview with Al Arabiya English.
Given the over 85 percent decrease in the population since 1987, Iraqi Christian Archbishop Bashar Warda says if "nothing changes in the current trajectory" there is a "real possibility" of extinction.
"The [Catholic] Church will never abandon Iraq, but the people can only take so much. They need to be able to see a future for their children," said Warda, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil, in an interview with Al Arabiya English.
Warda is a leader among Iraq’s Chaldeans, the country’s largest Christian sect, who recognize the authority of the pope. The community traces their roots back to the first century AD.
"My fear lies in losing our ancient church identity, our language, and our uniqueness," Matti Sogheetha, a Chaldean Christian in Iraq, told Al Arabiya English. Chaldeans and other denominations in Iraq, like Syriac Christian and Assyrian Christian, speak languages similar to Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.