Dear Friends,
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I have now returned to Baghdad and have just learned that the US National Council of
Churches have written to ask their government to put pressure on the Iraqi leadership,
to provide more protection for Christians in Iraq.
High praise
for the Iraqi Government
Whilst it is wonderful that they
are showing concern for their brothers and sisters here, I think that it is
important that people in the West are aware just how much the Iraqi Government
is doing for us.
I have had church leaders and members of my congregation killed and kidnapped.
All my people have suffered much. The people who have helped us the most
on the ground are none other than the Iraqi Government. I really cannot fault them on the
security they provide for us. Our church is continually protected day and
night.
When I travel, whether just across
Baghdad or even across the whole of Iraq, I am provided with close security of
at least 12 armed guards in three vehicles. The fact is, we are in a war zone and it is very dangerous
for everybody. We are all suffering.
A focus on
Religious Reconciliation
It is a high priority to restart the religious sectarian work of the High
Council of Religious Leaders in Iraq (HCRLI). They are the most senior
and most influential of all the religious groups in Iraq. These meetings
did more than anything else to reduce violence against religious minorities,
producing the first joint Shia and Sunni Fatwa against violence.
I chaired this group; I watched enemies become friends.
Then one day there was an election in the USA. Once the new Government was in place, all the US government
funding stopped. The work ceased to be active.
I have done all I can to have that funding reinstated. I have met with
people in Washington DC, the State Department, the Department of Defense and
CENTCOM - the US military's Central Command. In the UK, we have met with
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and with DFID, but sadly financial
assistance for this work has not been forthcoming.
At the same time there has been increased talk amongst the US military for the
need to engage with the religious leaders. Whilst this talk has been
excellent there is no longer any means to do it in Iraq at a substantive level.
This has left the religious leaders feeling that they are no longer trusted and
the difference they have made in the past is no longer recognized.
What we so desperately need is for our friends to put pressure on their
respective governments to enable this work to continue. All we need is $2m a
year to make a major difference and save many lives.
Please help us if you can.
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