Source: SIR
A Day of Solidarity with Iraq and its Christian community is to be held in Beirut on 13 March 2010 as explained by one of the promoters, Mgr. Kassarji, Chaldean bishop of Beirut, in an interview with the SIR. “There are approximately 50,000 Iraqis in Lebanon – said the bishop – of whom 8,000 are Christians, predominantly Chaldeans. Many of them have been intimidated, forced to leave their homes, and have suffered losses in their families. As refugees, they had to endure, and are still enduring, a lot of suffering, but we want to help them so that they do not break their ties with Iraq. It is everyone’s wish that they may return to their homeland one day. And the vote on Sunday 7 may represent a step forward in this direction”
“The Day to be held on 13 March will feature a series of debates, the projection of movies about Iraq and, above all, the testimonies of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon who have fled their homeland to escape violence. At the end of the event, a solemn Mass will be celebrated in the basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa. During the Mass we will call on the Lebanese Authorities to do all they can to assist the Iraqi refugees in Lebanon who have nothing, can neither work nor go to school and have no medical assistance. In this regard, also thanks to the help of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, we will open a medical aid centre for refugees, with 15 specialised doctors, in a couple of months”.
At their monthly meeting in Bkerké, the Maronite bishops said they would also support the Day and expressed solidarity with the Iraqi Christians who – as reported in the meeting’s final statement – “are an element of culture, stability and prosperity for Iraq”. In their statement, the Maronite bishops also praised the Government’s decision to celebrate the day of the Annunciation, 25 March, as a national Feast “in the name of a common Christian-Muslim feast” and called on the Government to overcome the current impasse and “meet the needs of its people”.