Not long after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Donny George, an Iraqi Christian whose family had lived in the region for thousands of years, received a death threat in an envelope containing a Kalashnikov bullet. The letter accused George of working for the Americans and said his youngest son had disrespected Islam. George quickly arranged to send most of his family to Damascus, Syria, but he stayed behind to work at the Iraqi National Museum, becoming chairman of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in 2005.
Within a year, though, he too decided to flee ”” first to Damascus, and eventually to the USA.
“I was told by some people in the same ministry that ”¦ such an important institution should not be headed by a Christian,” George told the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last year.
Many Iraqi Christians have suffered far worse fates. As documented by the U.S. State Department, Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq have endured extensive persecution since 2003, including the murder of their religious leaders, threats of violence or death if they do not abandon their homes and businesses, and the bombing or destruction of their churches and other places of worship. According to one Iraqi Christian leader, half of Iraq’s Christians have fled the nation since 2003, and some have likened the situation to ethnic cleansing.
Six weeks ago, at a European Union council of ministers meeting, Germany proposed that Christian refugees from Iraq be given special status. The EU at that point was chaired by Slovenia, a nearly 100% Catholic country. Slovenia refused to entertain the motion. They should be ASHAMED. They held that there should be no distinction between refugees and yet (a) Christians in Iraq are particularly vulnerable, as the report shows and (b) they assimilate more easily. Full marks to the US which is much more open to accepting Christians from Iraq. BTW they tend to be a highly-educated segment of the population.
No mention in the article of Canon Andrew White, whose commitment to the Iraqi Christians despite having Multiple Sclerosis is nothing short of heroic. His story was shown again on “60 Minutes” this past Sunday. Even though I had seen the segment the first time it ran, it moved me no less to tears the second time. How I wish there was a tangible way of supporting Canon White’s ministry but, since they must move around and meet in secret, it’s probably not possible. If anyone knows of a way, PLEASE post! Until then, we must all keep the good Canon and his congregation in our daily prayers.