Source: SIR
By Daniele Rocchi
Translated by Baghdadhope
By killing him they wanted to hit his commitment in the fields of dialogue, tolerance and reconciliation which are the values Iraq needs. The tactic is to divide Iraqi people. I myself studied in Chaldean schools where most students were Muslim. Schools are open to all in order to give a service to the country. There is no distinction between Christians, Catholics, Sunni or Shia Muslims. Indeed, when there is the hour of religious teaching Christian and Muslim students have their own teachers. They are example of coexistence that today the criminals want to destroy. Father Adel paid with his life his commitment. Fundamentalism does not want the good of Iraq. This is not the democracy Iraqi people dream of".
The Chaldean procurator to the Holy See, Father Philip Najim, recalls the Syriac Orthodox priest, Adel Youssef, killed on the 5 of April in Baghdad. Father Adel, the director of a school attended by Christian and Muslim students, is the second Syriac Orthodox priest killed in Iraq. Father Paul Iskandar of the church of Mar Ephrem in Mosul was kidnapped on the 9 of October 2006 and found dead two days later.
Father Najim, still Christians are the targets of an endless violence….
"Christian churches have never been united as they are now, and they are so in the sign of their martyrs. Never have been distinctions among Armenians, Syriac Orthodoxes, Syriac Catholics, Chaldeans. The faithful of all denominations attend the churches closer to their houses, no matter whether Catholic or Orthodox. There is a natural ecumenism proved by the high number of mixed marriages. Religion has never been a reason of division but of very strong unit. The action of the fundamentalists aims to eradicate this culture of tolerance. There are dark forces aiming to the ethnic division of Iraq, according to these forces there must be not a single people, but Sunni, Shia, Kurdish and other areas with no space for Christians. Something worrying also Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia that, as I read in the Arab newspapers, in these days closed their borders to prevent infiltration of terrorists and extremists in their territory."
Why aiming to the ethnic and religious division of Iraq?
"The issue of Iraq is today clear: terrorists and fundamentalists do not want unity because it would also mean peace, stability and reconstruction. When you live in chaos there is no time to build a future for young people, to develop a policy looking for the good of the people and its dignity creating employment, services and infrastructure. Today Iraq is detached from the international community, its people are isolated. The strongest response to sectarian and extremist violence is unity and this is possible only if Iraqis can share values such as reconciliation. "
In this context, what is the role of Iraqi political institutions and of the coalition troops?
In this context, what is the role of Iraqi political institutions and of the coalition troops?
"The government can do nothing because of its weakness, it can’t guarantee security and respect of human dignity. Every day many persons are killed and the culprits and the reasons of those killings will never be discovered. This is what is happening for Mgr. Rahho, the archbishop of Mosul. It can't be declared that the kidnappers of Mgr. Rahho have been ensured to justice and weeks after no one knows how far the investigations progessed. The government must give answers to the international community, the Iraqi people and the Chaldean church, it is a question of credibility.
What about the coalition troops?
What about the coalition troops?
"United States and the coalition troops show to have no strategy for the future of this country and it is also why Iraqis are emigrating. They can’t see a plan for the future. There is a lack of schools, roads, hospitals, services, infrastructure and security. I wonder where is the money of oil flowing into Iraq, how are the revenues managed. Iraqi people have the right to know. Here in Italy I did not hear any candidate to the elections talking about Iraq."
Is there anything the Church could do to make people not to forget Iraq?
Is there anything the Church could do to make people not to forget Iraq?
"Christians are dying, Father Adel and Mgr. Rahho are not the latest victims. A few days ago in Baghdad some Christian children have been killed. One idea could be to create a delegation made of Iraqi Christians of various denominations reinforced by the presence of emigrants living in Europe and in the USA to raise awareness among the countries that have the destiny of our Iraq in their hands. It is urgent to show the international community what is happening in Iraq every day against democracy and against Man. "