Iraq is not only the cradle of civilization, as you may know, but also the cradle of monotheism, where God called Father Abraham to leave everything and to follow the voice to the promised land. This happened in the city of Ur of the Chaldeans.
Christianity entered Iraq in the first century. We date back to the evangelization of St. Thomas, who was one of the apostles of Our Lord Jesus. Not many people know that the first church in Iraq was built in the year 80—that's eight-zero—because sometimes people are surprised to know that there are Christians in Iraq.
Yet the reality of persecution was a reality that accompanied the church throughout the 2,000 years of Christianity in Iraq. In the first 500 years, we were persecuted by the Persians. The persecution by Islam was on and off, and then the Mongolian invasion was another page of persecution, to the extent that our church was and is still called the “church of apostles and martyrs”.
Today this reality is back again. Once again, persecution comes to the surface. It is like yesterday, when our patriarch, Simeon Barsabae, was beheaded, along with hundreds of thousands of Christians in the 4th century. This was repeated in the 16th century. Between this time and that, there was the persecution by the Muslims, which was on and off.
Mesopotamian Christians always have represented a beautiful mosaic. They are mainly Chaldeans, who are descendants of the first civilizations on earth, and Assyrians as well, who inhabited the northern parts of Iraq. Then we have the Syriacs, the native people of Syria. But with the rise of Islam, things changed, and we decreased in numbers because of three factors: forced conversion, immigration, and massacres.
Let me jump to 1991 and the drastic change that happened on the Iraqi Christian scene. From 1.5 million Christians that were there, the number decreased to 800,000 and now it is estimated that there are only a quarter of a million Christians in Iraq.
In 2003, the church in Iraq so courageously opposed the war led by the United States of America. It is clear now that this opposition was not for the sake of Christians, but rather for the sake of peace and stability in the entire region and to avoid the tragic scenes of violence and killing that we began to see on a daily basis, which represent an insult to the dignity of the human person.
We strongly believe that the so-called Arab Spring was in fact a miserable, cold winter that led the entire region into darkness and will continue to lead the Middle East to an Islamic-Islamic endless conflict, where the Shia are backed up by the fanatic Islamic regime of Iran, and the Sunni are backed up by the fanatic part of the Saudis. The wealth of oil and the radical jihadist movement, which is fundamental, unfortunately drive all to the culture of seeking power to terminate others.
All are victimized, including the Shia and the Sunnis, but especially the peaceful minorities, such as Christians, Mandaeans, and Yezidis, who have neither the reliance on the tribal system, nor the existence of the militia, nor the presence of powerful, effective political parties.
As more than 150,000 of Mesopotamian Christians are still outside their land and homes living in tents and caravans waiting for a light at the end of the tunnel, doubts have started arising as to whether the people want to go back to Mosul, for instance, the second-largest city in Iraq, or any other town or village. Obviously there is a lack of trust in the Iraqi government, lack of trust in the Muslim neighbour who welcomed ISIL and supported their acts.
The military air strikes led by the United States of America to terminate ISIL will, in our opinion, be unable to end this intrinsic evil. The surprising fact is that the more frequent the strikes are, the more advanced ISIL gets on the ground.
The termination of ISIL can be achieved in two ways: one is short-term and the second is long-term. The short-term can be achieved by providing ground military forces, while the long-term will be met by helping and pressuring the Iraqi government to establish a strong army whose loyalty is to Iraq, not to any religious affiliation or neighbouring countries.
A long-term solution to the problem of the evil of ISIL, or any other movement that we may see in no time, can be achieved through an international endeavour to educate those who live in darkness. More work should be done at the international level to pressure several governments to change their elementary and high school programs that oftentimes teach hatred, racism, and the culture of killing.
Yet democracy cannot be dictated. Everything should start at home and at school, thus leading to a culture of life. That is why it seems to be a very long journey. But it's not impossible.
On the Canadian level and in light of the two recent attacks against our troops, it is so important to highlight that ISIL was not invented recently. It didn't start recently. It was there all the time, with the mentality and the ideology that anyone is ready to terminate anyone who differs. It is an intrinsically evil mentality of killing—killing the dignity of the human person, killing the diversity—and thus a culture that violates the very essence of our great Canadian values.
I echo the words of some Canadian officials, thanking them for their great witness, believing that under no circumstance is Canada ready to give up its values of human rights because of any religious or cultural considerations.
On the Iraqi level, a solution for the situation seems to be semi-impossible. For instance, even if we hear that the new Iraqi Prime Minister is well educated and there is a difference and he wants to lead the reform, he belongs to the same ruling party that is absolutely influenced by Iran. On the other hand, the political scene is much more complicated than before as a result of enhancing the sectarian quarters and tribal system.
Although it is the American Thanksgiving, I cannot but express on behalf of my people our deepest gratitude and thanksgiving to the Canadian government for what Canada has done so far. Our Canadian government took the lead when the rest of the world chose to be silent. The millions of dollars that Canada has contributed, the visits of Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to Iraq, and the active follow-up of the Canadian Ambassador to Iraq, who visited only three days ago the farthest Iraqi Christian village on the border between Iraq and Turkey, has made it clear that Canada is a true beacon of hope to the world.
Yet Canada can do much more on both the local and international levels. I'd like to end my presentation by sharing some of our concerns and suggestions.
With all the millions pledged and contributed by the Canadian government in support of the displaced, we have been hearing from volunteers and people they serve that they have received nothing, at least from the Canadian government. I understand that Canadian donations usually go through international agencies, yet I believe it is important for Canada to act on the ground to be closer to the people in need.
We learned that the Department of Foreign Affairs met with some representatives of Iraqi agencies to discuss the Canadian contributions and donations recently. Most of the attendees were from Iraqi Muslim and Kurdish agencies, while the persecuted were not well represented. Iraqi Christians were always not politicized, thus the church will continue to be their only representation, especially in light of the failure of all the Christian political parties, which are not more than followers of the main dominating parties on the Iraqi political scene.
The great heroic efforts of the committee, which was formed of the five bishops who represent the main Christian apostolic denomination, offered our persecuted and expelled brothers and sisters a true refuge. That was not going to happen without the support of the Vatican and some of the main organizations of the Catholic Church like Caritas and Kirche in Not of Germany.
As winter is at the door in Iraq there are serious concerns about sanitation and health conditions of the displaced. The fear of diseases and epidemics is a stressful reality. There is a concern about prostitution because when there is poverty and instability you can see all these phenomena.
The interrupted and stopped education of the children and youth represent another serious concern, especially with the incapability of the schools of the Kurdistan region to accommodate the number of displaced students. Since education is something fundamental for an Iraqi Christian, it becomes very frustrating for families to see their children left without school.
In light of the concerns stated above, I believe Canada can play a significant role and be instrumental in the area of development programs at this stage. Housing, education, and health services should be the priority. If this is done it will be a mission of saving a nation from a true genocide.
Thank you very much.