150,000 Christians have been driven from their homes! The terrorists of the “Islamic State” demanded that they abandon their religion or submit to discriminatory obligations.
These brothers, who have been present in the Nineveh Plains for two thousand years, chose to lose everything (identity papers, homes, jewelry, memories, cars, clothing)… to keep their faith!!!
Tens of thousands of families have taken refuge in Erbil, Dohuk, Kirkuk, Sulaimaniyah… Much has been done to welcome them, but a large number of Christians still live in tents, in unfinished buildings, schools, gyms… And there is even worse.
The urgent need is therefore to shelter hundreds of Christian families from the freezing rain and snow! We need to give them back a bit of warmth and hope!
Mgr Nona, the exiled Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, proposes to install 150 PVC bungalows on land provided by the city of Erbil. This would allow nearly 900 people to be housed. The cost of a bungalow is about €3,500, with collective kitchens and sanitary facilities included.
The everyday lives of displaced children are also a major concern.
It is essential to socialize them if schooling is not possible. The Dominican Sisters and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are organizing to welcome them, but they need premises, equipment, and some compensation for teachers.
A bit of history:
The Christians of Iraq are the heirs of a very ancient religious settlement, predating the birth of Islam in the 7th century.
These Christians are almost entirely descendants of populations who lived in Mesopotamia before the Christian era.
The Chaldean Church was founded in Babylon by Saint Thomas and his disciples. They evangelized pagans and exiled Jews. It was then called the Church of the East.
This Church, separated since the Council of Ephesus in 431, entered the fold of the Catholic Church in 1553. The Assyrian Church remains separate.
In 1932, Christians made up 20% of the population: with the arrival of Saddam Hussein, the country experienced a first wave of departures, and the Christian population has since decreased to only 10%.
Since the American intervention, the population has only continued to decrease: in 2005, there were still 5% Christians, in 2007, only 3% remained, and by 2008, it might be as low as 2%.
