By International Christian Concern
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on October 2, 2018, Iraq's interim government took a positive step toward breaking months of deadlock by naming a new president and prime minister. However, negotiations remain underway regarding several other key government positions.
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on October 2, 2018, Iraq's interim government took a positive step toward breaking months of deadlock by naming a new president and prime minister. However, negotiations remain underway regarding several other key government positions.
The government has struggled to form since
the contested May election. This has contributed to a steep security
decline, increasing the vulnerability of Iraq's Christians, especially
in the capital city of Baghdad.
"The random murdering taking place
over the years is increasing because we don't have government. The
militias are in charge of the country," Nagham, a Baghdad Christian,
told ICC.
"Academics started [this week] ... I am concerned about
[my] 8-year-old son until he comes back from school. His father has to
take him to school because we don't trust the school bus. If something
bad happened, no one can help," she added. Her family wants to escape
Baghdad because of the security situation, but cannot afford losing her
husband's income.
This is a common theme for Baghdad's Christians.
If they stay, they face an increased risk of violence. If they leave,
they lose a source of income that was difficult to obtain because of job
discrimination against Christians.
"Life in Baghdad is crazy, I
[have] never seen anything similar before!" said Sigar, a trader who has
lived in Baghdad most of his life, but is originally from the Nineveh
Plains.
He added, "Muslims earn monthly an imaginary amount of
money... They live in houses [where the] price exceeds $500,000, but the
family is destroyed. I think the community [is] destroyed and it is not
possible to rebuild it again... Unfortunately, whoever is able to leave
will not delay his leaving."
Historically, Baghdad's Christians
have often relocated to the Nineveh Plains when violence plagued the
country's capital. However, ISIS's destruction of the Nineveh Plains has
removed that option for many, including Sigar. "It is risky [for us] to
stay here," he told ICC. "[But] trading is what we are used to [doing],
we cannot change it now... changing is impossible."
Suha, a local
teacher, agrees that the situation in Baghdad has put the local
Christians in an ever worsening situation. "Our being in Baghdad is
dangerous. I agree we are not safe," Suha told ICC. "The worst
personalities have the high positions at the government and that's why
we are in danger. The murder of Tara Fares at one of the most crowded
areas in Baghdad is more than a murder, it is a message that we got very
well. It is a message of threatening that we (the militias) can do
whatever wherever we want."
This past September, four high-profile
Iraqi women, including Tara Fares, were the victims of targeted
assassinations. Fares has family belonging to the Christian community
and her murder is reminiscent of the type of violence that Christians
experienced from 2003 to 2006.
Claire Evans, ICC's Regional
Manager, said, "All of Iraq is suffering the consequences of an absent
government, religious minorities the most of all. Without the protection
of law, there is no one to stand by the side of Christians when they
are the victims of violence and discrimination. As they watch the
country's situation deteriorate, they are increasingly left to wonder
how they can survive when their options were already severely limited.
We must keep Iraq's Christians, especially those in current hot zones
such as Baghdad, in our prayers."