By Baghdadhope
Constantly in touch with Mosul, his city, Father Amer Youkhanna reported to Baghdadhope the situation of the Christian community at the end of this bloody week.
"Everyone in Mosul paid particular attention to the words of the Imams of the mosques today that is Friday. Most of the imams, so I was told, made no mention of the violence of recent days and only someone generically called the faithful to keep good neighborly relations with all components of the city. Regarding the daily life each passing day becomes more difficult. No one can go out for shopping except when the city is empty. The women are careful to wear the veil on their hair and to try to pass off as Muslim. Who used to have a job no longer works and without money they can’t buy food or fuel for electrical generators."
Apart from these difficulties and dangers how coulds you describe the feelings of the community?
"The prevailing feeling is that of fear. Someone is more confident someone is less. Who is confident links the relaxation of pressure on the last two days to the direct intervention of three parties, the Iraqi Islamic Party, the League of Islamic Scientists and the List Hadbah * that expressed their solidarity with Christians in the media and that, according to my sources, actively intervened in the matter. Who is less confident links the relative calm to the fact that yesterday and today are Islamic pre and holiday, a kind of stop for the weekend. The people to whom I spoke insisted on the suffering of a community forced to leave its city. The citizens of Mosul of Christian faith are precisely this: citizens of Mosul. I am not talking for everybody, but the people to whom I spoke were clear when they told me they do not want to leave, do not want to look for an autonomy elsewhere, but they want to continue to be citizens of Mosul and citizens of a federal Iraq."
Will the churches be open Sunday?
"No one knows. I twill depend on the situation, of course today is already Friday and the fear is still great."
* By the name of Adbah is commonly known the leaning minaret adjacent to Jama 'Al-Nuri Mosque, one of the symbols of Mosul, that is consequently also called Adbah. Note by Baghdadhope
