Iraq: 10 years after ISIS invasion, Christians still need help
Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that about 9,000 Christian families have returned to their homes on the Nineveh Plains after fleeing a decade ago, when ISIS took the region.
In June of 2014, the Islamist extremist group captured Mosul and the villages to the north and east of the city, prompting a mass exodus of Christians and Yazidis, among others. The occupation of Mosul left other Christians on the Nineveh Plains vulnerable, and indeed, on August 6, 2014, prompted by further ISIS aggression, the entire Christian population fled to Iraqi Kurdistan.
Archbishop Warda told ACN that 13,200 Christian families had fled to his archdiocese in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. He said he was grateful to the international community – including ACN – for providing emergency aid and helping to rebuild the destroyed villages, making it possible for thousands of Christian families to return to their native land, with “everyone working towards one goal.”
He added that “all those sad and terrifying memories are still there, but at least [the Christian families] can start building and see that the future is in [their] hands.” The archbishop underlined that the “churches are filled again,” and “there are so many children” receiving catechesis and preparing for their First Holy Communion.
He went on to highlight the special role of the Catholic University of Erbil – Iraq’s only Catholic university, established in 2015 and supported by ACN – in nurturing Christian unity in the region.
He said that his community needs all the help it can get to “keep the flame of the Christian faith shining” in Iraq’s historic Christian heartland. He added: “I ask my people just to be patient and persevere.”
Archbishop Warda said that many Christians have either left or are planning to leave the country because of the ongoing economic hardship, and that young people “ask for jobs, not just to receive donations.” He explained that, even though persecution is no longer their main concern, “the pressure of being a minority is real.”
He urged the international community not to forget Iraq’s suffering Christians “in the midst of so many crises around the world.” The archbishop said that he “would love to see” the UK government and other world leaders remind Iraqi politicians that they “care about the minorities – Christians, Yazidis, and the rest.”
He expressed his gratitude for ACN’s help, saying: “The response from ACN and other Christian charities was a big help that made it possible for us to help those in need. We pray for you and for all our benefactors. We pray that whatever you give, we multiply it in a way that will help serve the needs of the people.”
—Amy Balog
