Source and photos: Ankawa.com
By Baghdadhope
Every opportunity is good to keep alive the memory of Mgr. Faraj P. Rahho: silent marches of the Iraqi Christians in the villages of the north and abroad and other kind of events. Thus, for example, in the village of Bartella the championship for the election of the "strongest man" was dedicated to the memory of the death bishop. The championship saw different young men competing in various tests of strength such as trunks and sacks lifting, moving huge tyres and dragging huge jeeps. For the record, the winner was Basam Abdelhad and the race was followed by a large audience and by the Syriac Catholic bishop of Mosul, Archbishop George Qas Musa. 
In Al Qosh, in the presence of the Chaldean bishop, Mgr. Mikha P. Maqdassi the "House of Angels" was inaugurated. It is a nursery school that enrolls 100 children under the age of six who are divided into 4 classes: flowers, little sparrows, nightingales and butterflies. The school is entrusted to Father Emile Nouna and is headed by Sister Esperance who is assisted by 9 teachers.
The atmosphere in Baghdad and Basra, where the battle between government forces and militias and among the same militias rages, is rather different. In many areas of the capital the population is forced to stay at home for fear of clashes, especially in those closer to Sadr City, the huge district/city stronghold of the Mahdi army loyal to Muqtada As Sadr on which the government led by Nuri Al Maliki has declared war. It is the case, for example, of the Habibiya district where, according to what referred to Baghdahope by a priest working in the area, the Mahdi army took control of the streets from which the government forces disappeared, and where it is no longer active the "fawha" system that, in collaboration with the Iraqi and American forces, provided the presence and control of the check points by armed forces of the same district. Precisely in the capital it has been registered the death of a young Christian man, Sargon Zahir Oshana, killed while was going back home after having attended the Easter rites in the church of Mar Eliya in Baghdad Jadida.
In the meantime in Basra the Chaldean church of Mar Afram has been hit. Fortunately there were no victims and the parish priest, Father Emad Aziz Banna, as a sign of peace and hope for the little community adorned the walls and the windows of the church that were hit with the peace symbol par excellence: olive branches. 
