IRAQI CHRISTIANS

This came in from Stafford:

The Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project (ISDP) has been spreading disinformation against the Kurdistan Region. To attract US Government attention and support they try to assert that the future of Iraqi democracy is directly dependent on how minorities are treated within the country.

The numbers being reported are very unreliable. The number of Christians in Iraq could be significantly fewer than 500,000 in a country of an estimated population of 28 million. Even from the Kurdistan Region, which is personally secure and politically stable, where Christians from Baghdad and Mosul have sought refuge, many Christians continue to emigrate.

ISDP tries to assert that minorities are threatened by both Arabs and Kurds. To add weight to the issue, they have assumed other minorities into their argument - Shabak-Kurds, Yezidi-Kurds, and Turkmen. Shabak-Kurds and Yezidi-Kurds adhere to non-Muslim and non-Christian religions while Turkmens are either Sunni Muslim or Shia Muslim.

The international media has been critical of the KRG and the presence of peshmerga in areas where Christians, Shabak-Kurds, and Yezidi Kurds have been traditional inhabitants. The fact is that the KRG and peshmerga have been providing much needed security services. Members of these communities in the Nineveh Plain (Al-Qosh, Bashiqa, Bartilla), however, recently confirmed that if it weren't for the KRG and peshmerga they would be wiped out, eliminated.


Excerpt: "Youash, who authored a paper on the Iraqi minority crises for the American University International Law Review, warned that the demographic changes will hurt Iraq because Assyrian Christians "are disproportionately represented in Iraq's professional and educated elite." "
See: http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/ilr/24/documents/Youash.pdf?rd=1

This paper asserts that "Assyrians" are an ethnic group that includes members of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Syrian Orthodox Church, Church of the East, and other churches and denominations. It asserts that these Christians trace their origins to the Assyrian empire. This is questionable and given the many migrations over more than 6,000 years to the area now known as Iraq many Iraqi Christians do not agree with this theory.

Excerpt: "The deliberate targeting of minorities by Islamist extremists, including the government-affiliated Sadr Militia and Badr Brigade, and by prejudicial policies from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is emptying Iraq of its indigenous Assyrians."

What "prejudicial policies"?

Excerpt: "There are debates about the culpability of the central government in Baghdad regarding the targeting and persecution of ethno-religious minorities. The basis of this debate is the inability of the central government to develop and implement policy, and therefore minority persecution is not government-driven. This is debatable in terms of assessing central government apathy or the political affiliations of the major militias. However, the KRG is highly effective at developing and implementing policy and therefore carries a significant degree of responsibility for its persecution of minorities."

Excerpt: "The situation in northern Iraq and KRG-controlled areas (where the government has formal jurisdiction and where it is seeking to dominate) can be likened to a return of Saddam-era authoritarianism. The community has long felt the pressure and intimidation of the Peshmerga, particularly from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Peshmerga, however, are an extension of their political leaders in the KDP, and the problem is political."

This paper is likely to be used as reference ammunition against the Kurdistan Region just as the paper used statements from biased secondary sources in the US State Department's 2005 Human Rights Country Report: "In the January elections, many of the mostly non-Muslim residents on the Nineveh Plain were unable to vote. Some polling places did not open, ballot boxes were not delivered, and incidents of voter fraud and intimidation occurred. These problems resulted from administrative breakdowns on voting day and the refusal of Kurdish security forces to allow ballot boxes to pass to predominantly Christian villages."

There's more: "The situation in northern Iraq is tangibly that of a new apartheid-like development track for Christian Assyrians as they widely choose not to succumb to KDP authoritarianism. However, it appears that U.S. Government neglect of this community in terms of equitable reconstruction and development is aiding their starvation into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. By all accounts, the U.S. Government’s disregard for the development needs of Christian Assyrians in light of the scale of their dislocation causes them to fall prey to the predatory behavior of the KDP." And there's still more.

This paper was published in a credible journal at a reputable university. It contains disinformation, inaccuracies, and falsehoods. It needs to be authoritatively contested.

"The Shame of Mosul"

Stafford sends this note from Kurdistan:

The regime of Saddam Hussein destroyed - flattened - hundreds of communities throughout the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - more than 4,000. Christian communities were destroyed along with non-Christian communities. Both churches and mosques were destroyed. Tens of thousands of families were forced to migrate from their homes.

Since the 1991 war dozens of Christians communities have been reconstructed and resettled. And since the 2003 war began, many Christian communities in the Kurdistan Region have been additionally supported with houses, churches and church halls, roads, electricity generators, water systems, libraries, and Internet centers. These Christian communities exist very peacefully in the midst of non-Christian communities, even in remote rural areas.

Because of violence against Christians elsewhere in the country, thousands of Christian families have fled to areas where the Kurdistan Region's security services exist. These services have been extended to Arabs, Turkmens, Christians, Shabaks, and of course Kurds including Yezidi Kurds. A major seminary is being moved from an area where the threat of violence prevails and is under construction in the Kurdistan Region.

Recently, apparently, a concerted campaign is being waged in Mosul against Christians. A member of the Council of Representatives has mischievously cited the Kurdistan Region's security services as being involved. Mosul is not under the control of the Kurdistan Region's security forces. This malicious propaganda has regrettably found its way into the less-informed, but usually more reputable, international media.

Kurdistan's right of return

Stafford Clarry sends this comment:

Today, some 5 million displaced Iraqis attract less attention than 150,000 Georgians. Most displaced people are in desperate need of urgent and regular basic assistance - shelter, food, fuel, cooking utensils, health service, personal items, etc.
It is not for want of resources. Actually, there is a surplus. Those most responsible for their welfare have yet to provide the assistance Iraqi refugees and IDPs have urgently needed for months, even years.
In addition to inadequate shelter and food, and other basic living requirements, displaced children are growing up without adequate schooling which will adversely affect Iraq's future even further.

Report on Iraqi Refugees

Nathaniel Hurd sends this item round. He was part of a delegation to look at the Iraq Refugee problem. This is their report:

Five-Year Iraq Conflict Has Caused Massive Refugee Crisis;
IRC Commission Calls U.S. / World Response ‘Grossly Inadequate’

The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five years ago and its violent aftermath have produced one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time, yet the “Coalition of the Willing” has been mostly unwilling to own up to it and provide adequate aid for the innocent bystanders.

More than four million Iraqi civilians are estimated to be uprooted by horrific violence and in dire need of help in a crisis that is largely hidden from the public and ignored by the international community, according to a report issued today by the International Rescue Committee’s Commission on Iraqi Refugees.

The report, “Five Years Later, a Hidden Crisis,” is available if you click on this link

Iraq Refugees

Dr Fatimah send this link to the UNHCR site which she regards as a good site on Iraq:

CLICK HERE FOR UNHCR

Prostitution ordeal of Iraqi girls

Mialy emerged from the shadows to send this story in which the BBC's Lina Sinjab investigates the growing problem of sex trafficking and prostitution among Iraqi refugees in Syria. Mialy writes: "thought you might be interested in this article. Unfortunately it's pretty shocking and sad the difficulties and sexual exploitation of young women and girls caused by the mess that is Iraq but it's often overlooked ..."

TO VIEW STORY CLICK HERE

'Global apathy' to Iraqi refugees

Stafford sends this item. He says: "With all the mounting pressures for coalition forces to withdraw from Iraq it is unlikely to happen until Iraqi refugees and IDPs begin to return to their homes. They will return, but only after they themselves determine that it is secure and stable enough to do so."

Excerpt: "It is considered the worst refugee crisis in the Middle East since the population changes that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel in 1948."

Stafford continues: "The media continues to overlook the fact that the 1991 Iraq refugee crisis far exceeded the 1948 Palestinian refugee crisis. The 1991 crisis demonstrated that Iraq's refugees and IDPs do indeed return. It showed the action and conditions that were needed for the return to successfully occur."

26 Sep 07. (CNN) -- Countries across the world are inadequately responding to the Iraqi refugee crisis, a human rights group said in a report Monday.
The Amnesty International report, "Millions in flight: the Iraqi refugee crisis," also said that Syria and Jordan are shouldering too much of the burden in meeting the needs of the refugees.
The human rights group described what it calls "the world's fastest growing displacement crisis" -- the flight of people from their homes in war-torn Iraq.
"The desperate humanitarian situation of displaced Iraqis, including refugees and those who remain within Iraq, has been largely ignored by the world," said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International in a press statement.
"A deepening humanitarian crisis and greater political instability across the wider region are looming, unless the international community meets its obligation to shoulder a fair share of the responsibility for protecting and assisting Iraqi refugees."
The group, citing U.N. figures, said there are 4.2 million displaced Iraqis -- 2.2 million internally displaced in Iraq and more than 2 million refugees.
Of the 2.2 million plus refugees, 1.4 million are in Syria and about a half million to three-quarters of a million in Jordan.
It is considered the worst refugee crisis in the Middle East since the population changes that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
The report urged countries, "in particular those who have participated in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to assist Jordan and Syria" on several levels. It called for more financial and technical aid for health and schooling and "urgent steps to develop more generous refugee programs."
It called for governments to "cease practices that further call the safety of Iraqis into question such as forcibly returning rejected asylum seekers to Iraq, cutting off assistance to those denied asylum and even revoking the refugee status of some Iraqis."
The group said the burdens on Syria and Jordan have been great and noted that the two countries are "tightening border controls" and "cutting off the main escape routes for people fleeing from sectarian and other violence in Iraq."
"We are very concerned that the new visa requirements being introduced by Syria and Jordan will prevent Iraqis receiving the protection they need," Smart said. "We urge both governments to keep their borders open to those fleeing for their lives.
"However, other states must do more to assist these two countries by providing increased financial, technical and in-kind bilateral assistance to enable them to meet the health, schooling and other needs of the refugees, and by accepting greater number of especially vulnerable refugees for resettlement."
Smart called the actions taken by the international community as "modest."
"Moreover, some states are taking negative measures, such as forcibly returning rejected asylum seekers to Iraq, cutting off assistance to those denied asylum and even revoking the refugee status of some Iraqis."
The report also criticized what it calls the "slow pace of resettlement of those considered most vulnerable among the Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria, including victims of torture and other grave abuses."

The Last Jew of Babylon

The Jewish community, though small, still remains in Iraq today. We know because we try to help them from time to time. Despite which, Justin writes: This is a powerful story which aired on Al-Jazeera International. It's on You Tube in two parts and well worth watching:

To view Part 1 click here

To view Part 2 click here

UN Highlights Iraq Refugee Crisis

As the conflict in Iraq continues, 1,000s of Iraqis are forced to flee, either to neighbouring countries or destinations further afield. This has placed an enormous strain on countries such as Jordan and Syria, who are threatening to close their borders to the Iraqis. Furthermore, countries such as Britain admit very few Iraqi applications for asylum, despite their role in instigating the conflict. These problems are also mirrored within Iraq - many Iraqis are forced to take shelter with friends and relatives, or have founds homes in the slums that are springing up in Kirkuk as they are moved from pillar to post by the wrangles over Kirkuk's identity.



The BBC
The UN is holding a major conference to highlight the Iraqi refugee crisis, which it says has been largely ignored by the international community.

The UN refugee agency estimates 50,000 people are fleeing the violence in Iraq each month and that up to four million Iraqis are now living away from home. Most refugees go to neighbouring Syria and Jordan, which have together accepted about two million refugees.

Officials from more than 60 countries are attending the meeting in Geneva. The UNHCR says many of the refugees live in acute poverty with little access to health and education.

To see the full article please click on the title