My name is Mirza Shmoil. I'm a Christian Assyrian originally from Iraq, but a loyal and grateful Canadian citizen. Our family came to Canada in 1968, and there were few Assyrian families in Toronto at that time. Today our population has increased to approximately 25,000 to 30,000 souls, and the majority have settled in Toronto, in the suburbs, while smaller communities exist in British Columbia, Alberta, Winnipeg, and Quebec.
I was personally involved in the first committees for the establishment of social and religious institutions for our growing Assyrian community. I'm pleased to say that we now have a beautiful building for our social club and an equally nice building for our Assyrian church, which holds approximately 700 seats.
For the last 25 years, I've been managing our immigration and refugee affairs as the chairman and executive director. In 1989, we registered our foundation as a charitable non-profit organization called the Welfare Committee for the Assyrian Community in Canada. We are a sponsoring agreement holder, having an agreement with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which is renewable every two years. Our board of directors consists of five members.
With the removal of Saddam Hussein and the collapse of the Baath Party by the intervention of the American coalition forces who invaded Iraq to liberate the Iraqi population, the majority of the Iraqi people were relieved and hoped for a better and brighter future. However, there appeared groups of armed insurgents whose aim was to disrupt the newly formed Government of Iraq by murdering its new leaders as well as highly educated classes in the government. Not satisfied with this, these armed terrorist groups started targeting Christians working for the new government, as well as all those who were working for American and coalition enterprises in Iraq.
At the same time, there was a deep conflict between Shia and Sunni communities that affected the Christian communities very seriously throughout the country, in large cities such as Baghdad, the surrounding smaller communities, including the city of Dora, Mosul, Nineveh, Kirkuk, as well as the areas occupied by the Kurdish regional government. The result was that millions of Iraqis fled their country seeking asylum in the neighbouring countries of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, etc.
Large-scale displacement of Iraqi civilians continued due to the ongoing violence, including direct raids, abductions, or killings in many parts of Iraq. The UNHCR estimates that some 2.2 million Iraqis are currently refugees abroad, and over 2.7 million are currently displaced inside Iraq. Among the refugees outside Iraq, it's estimated that at least one million are Christians of different denominations, Assyrians and other ethnic groups included.
It's reported that since 2003, about 33 Assyrian churches have been bombed. Priests and bishops have been kidnapped and tortured to death, and other Christian civilians have been beheaded or kidnapped for ransom money. Assyrian women are at great risk of being kidnapped and raped if they fail to obey the demands of the perpetrators of these savage crimes. Children have been scared to attend school for fear of being kidnapped by terrorists or criminal groups of fanatical Muslims.
It's also reported that the Mujahedeen, an armed Sunni group, along with the Omar Brigade and others, claimed uncontested control of different parts of Dora district, while threatening, abducting, looting, and killing residents with the aim of cleansing Christian Assyrians from Iraq, accused of being supporters of American and coalition forces, or because they are Christians--and the Assyrians happen to be the original residents of Iraq.
Christian Assyrians and other ethnic Christian groups do not have their own security to defend themselves against insurgent attacks, but merely depend upon Iraqi government sources for protection. Unfortunately, the government has no provision or ability to provide any protection to the Christian minority groups in the country. This is the main reason these unprotected Christian Assyrians have no alternative but to flee, leaving their homes to the mercy of fanatical armed groups, and seek asylum outside their own country.
The latest victims are of crimes that happened just within the last three weeks. First, a bishop was tortured and killed in the city of Nineveh, or Mosul, and just two days ago a Christian priest was murdered in front of his residence in Baghdad. No arrests for these crimes or for previous crimes have been made. It appears that the Iraqi government cannot protect its citizens.
The following are my recommendations:
With regard to Muslim Arab refugees outside their country, it is my sincere opinion that such refugees can be easily resettled in the neighbouring countries. If the Iraqi government forces and leaders are honest, then they should be all together with no discrimination between the religions. This is a better choice than the UN spending millions of dollars to keep the refugees in Syria and Jordan.
As regards the Assyrian and other Christian refugees outside Iraq, I feel strongly that they should be resettled in their own homeland in north Iraq, have their own self-rule, and be given the required security guaranteed by the United Nations as well as by the Iraqi government and Kurdish regional government.
The Assyrians and other Christians, being the indigenous people of Iraq, have been living in their own homeland for well over 6,000 years. I'm sure they'll be good neighbours to the Kurds as well as the Arabs in the country. Our preference for the resettlement of Assyrians and other Christian groups in the triangle area is self-rule under the name “Assyria”, following geographic borders of the state of Iraq with Turkey and Syria. In the north are the international borders of the state of Iraq with Turkey and Syria. On the east it includes the Nerwa and Rekan region down to the Greater Zab River. On the west is the Tigris River, and to the south it is the point where the Greater Zab meets with the Tigris River.
The Assyrian administration region, if provided autonomy and self-government as in Kurdistan to the north, will be economically viable through the existing industries, as well as trade with neighbouring Syria and Turkey and through investment and the return of perhaps one million Assyrian Christian refugees who are presently outside Iraq and those who are internally displaced within Iraq.
With regard to those Assyrians and other Christian refugees presently outside Iraq who have lost their homes in Iraq and who do not wish to return to their homeland, we would suggest that they be considered for resettlement to Canada or other western countries where they happen to have close relatives already.
For those refugees who wish to come and join their families and friends in Canada, we recommend that our organization, as it is prepared and willing, provide sponsorship to those who have relatives in this country over and above the present limit of 100 persons that we are allowed to sponsor a year, provided CIC considers sharing with us its responsibility based on JAS or a blended program similar to the programs granted by CIC to the Chinese, Karen and, more recently, Bhutan refugees.
In conclusion, I wish to convey my community's appreciation for inviting me to this meeting to discuss the Christians of Iraq and Christian Assyrian refugees. We are most grateful to the Government of Canada in helping us to sponsor and admit hundreds of displaced and desperate Assyrians and other Christian refugees to Canada, where they enjoy freedom, democracy, and a bright future for their children.
Thank you very much.