Mana "refleksi"nya @mBoong? --- In [email protected], "sunny" <am...@...> wrote: > > http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article155623.ece > > Christians flee Iraq even as war fades > By JAMAL AL-BADRANI | REUTERS > > Published: Oct 6, 2010 23:36 Updated: Oct 6, 2010 23:36 > > MOSUL: Bassam Hermiz has slashed prices to clear his stock of electrical > appliances, close his shop and join many thousands of other Iraqi Christians > abroad. > > Once numbering some 750,000 in this mainly Muslim country of 30 million, > Christians have been trapped in the crossfire of sectarian strife ignited > after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's secular dictatorship > in 2003. > > Alarmed that their flock could face extinction, Iraqi Christian leaders > appealed to the Vatican for help. > > Pope Benedict, also worried about the shrinking Christian presence in the > Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, has called a synod of bishops for > Oct. 10-24 to discuss how churches can work together to preserve > Christianity's oldest communities. > > The special assembly will consider a Vatican document that decries "disregard > for international law," human rights abuses and an exodus of Christians > fleeing conflict in the Middle East. > > The document, released in June, says Christian emigration is "particularly > prevalent because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the resulting > instability in the Middle East." > > It also cites political instability in Lebanon and menacing conditions in > Iraq, "where the war has unleashed evil forces." > > Post-invasion bloodshed and chronic insecurity have spooked Iraqi Christians, > many of whom feel they have no future here. > > "We decided to leave after we lost hope of living in peace in Iraq. It was > not our choice," said Hermiz, the shopkeeper who is taking his family from > the volatile northern city of Mosul to Holland, where his brother already > lives. > > He cast a dejected eye over the few remaining goods in his shop. His > two-storey family home, replete with balconies and marble, also looks forlorn > with most of the furniture sold. > > Hundreds of thousands of Christians, described by Pope Benedict as Iraq's > "most vulnerable religious minority" in an appeal for better security this > year, have left since 2003. > > Perhaps only half of a Christian community rooted here for centuries remains, > although no official figures exist. > > And more Christians are leaving, despite a plunge in overall violence in the > past three years as bloodletting between majority Shiites and once dominant > Sunni Muslims tapers off. > > Every now and then Christians still come under attack, especially in the > northern province of Nineveh, considered the last urban stronghold of > Al-Qaeda militants. > > It is not always clear whether they are targeted for their faith, for the > headlines their woes generate in Western media, for their political > allegiances or for other reasons. > > In February, gunmen killed eight Christians in the streets or at work in > Mosul, prompting thousands of others to flee. > > The slayings occurred two weeks before an inconclusive parliamentary election > that has produced no new government six months later. The stalemate threatens > Iraq's fragile security, along with most other aspects of life in a > traumatized nation. > > In May bomb blasts near a bus carrying Christian university students in Mosul > killed at least one and wounded 100. > > Attacking Christians is an effective way to highlight the shortcomings of > Iraq's security forces, attracting more media attention than the far higher > casualties among Iraqi Muslims. > > Christians, like other minorities in northern Iraq, feel insecure as the > region's Arabs and Kurds feud over land and oil. > > "The departure is in full swing for many reasons: The security and economic > situation, and the direct attacks and kidnappings that Christians have been > exposed to," said Bassim Bello, mayor of Telkaif near Mosul. He said 1,050 > families in the mainly Christian town had fled abroad in 2008 alone. > > Exile is often heart-breaking, as it is for Hirmiz and his family, quitting > the home they built 20 years ago in Mosul. "I used to reject the idea of > leaving, but I've got used to it over time, especially when I hear of the > killing of friends," sighed Um Edwar, Hermiz's wife. "I also feel sad about > the garden, which I adore. No one will take care of it like I do." > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
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