BRAVE BISHOP continued from page 15 Strong words for the West The brave Metropolitan Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf, the Orthodox Syriac Archbishop of Mosul, whose flock are among the last people who speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, does not mince his words. He openly criticizes the West for placing animal rights ahead of the well-being and survival of Christians, saying, “The West cares more about frogs than us. “The USA, the UK and those who helped America are responsible for destroying our life. If they believe in human rights, then they should rebuild our country. In Western countries, there are animal rights, there are no human rights in this part of the world. “The leaders of these two countries destroyed our country. They wanted to destroy one person, Saddam Hussein, instead they destroyed the whole country, they destroyed Iraq. They want to destroy Bashar Al Assad, and they destroyed Syria. They wanted to change Gadhafi and they destroyed Libya. Is this policy clever or crazy?” Nicodemus implores the West to wake up to the threat of Islamism, and he faults past U.S. leaders and their allies for ruining Iraq. He liked President Trump, saying: “Let’s try the crazy one because we tried the normal one, and he destroyed our lives.” The Orthodox bishop was banned from visiting Britain in 2016, despite being formally invited to meet Prince Charles, because of his views on Islam. In contrast, he greatly values the example set by Hungary and its leaders for the support that they have shown Iraqi Christians. Metropolitan Nicodemus reflects on being denied a visa to Britain. “Someone from the television channel RT called me from England and asked why I couldn’t get a visa. I told him: ‘Because I’m not with ISIS.’ The British government gives visas to those who support ISIS. I don’t. “I have had permanent residence in Australia and visas for all the world, except England. In America, where I stayed for 5 years, Russia, India, all these places, yet they don’t accept us and have refused three archbishops claiming that they would ask to be refugees in England!” In addressing the European Commissioners in November 2016, the bishop was equally blunt and asked the representatives, “Why this new genocide against the Christians and minorities in Iraq and Syria in the 21st century? Is that because I am a minority? Is our life so cheap? Are we worthless and dispensable? Daesh robed us of everything, they took our history, our manuscripts, our pride, our churches that belong to the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C.” The brave Bishop had harsh questions for President Macron of France during his visit to Mosul on August 29, 2021. “We know that the superpowers have satellites in the skies watching our regions. May I ask you where were you looking when 200 vehicles, same color and model, lined up and entered Mosul during daylight to terrorize and expel us from our ancestral cities, towns, and villages? Is it possible that you could not see that? How come they were able to stop the ISIS assault on the gates of Kurdistan and not on Mosul? “Who founded Daesh? Who financed its operations and purchased its oil? Why should we become part of disputes and pay for a conflict between the Shia and Sunnis? What is the final purpose of all of this? Uproot Christianity? We are the roots of Christianity in the Middle East. “We are the indigenous people of Mesopotamia and today we are refugees and displaced in our own ancestral land. I was born here and so was my father, grandfather, and generational family. Why should we accept that? We want to live in peace in our homes and in the East. We ask for international protection and to help us stay in our country and Nineveh Plain region. You can take and keep your exported democracy, we want peace.” Solutions First, we need a strong central government with the rule of law in Iraq. Since 2003, we had to live without law. No country in the world can live without stability, peace, and rule of law. Second, we need a political decision and guarantees from the UN to designate the Nineveh Plain villages as a safe zone, protected by international power. “We can’t go back to build our houses, our churches, and villages without real security, or just by verbal guarantees,” says the bishop. “The guarantees cannot come only from Iraqi and the KRG (Kurdistan) governments but from the international community and the UN. Without help from all these countries, we cannot do anything. We don’t trust the government in Baghdad. We hope for an internationally protected Christian autonomous region, what happened to the Christian community in northern Iraq under ISIS amounted to genocide. “It would be stupid to go back with this situation because when ISIS came to Mosul, they were just 300 persons, and at that time there were 65,000 Iraq soldiers. So how can we trust this army again? Ironically, our villages were protected by Peshmerga, and they left us stranded! We feel alone with no one to protect our people. How can we go back to that situation? “When I met the American consul, I told him we need international guarantees, protection, anyone to protect us. If not, we get another ISIS after a few months, and we will get another one under a new name. He said it’s difficult to put soldiers there. I told him we don’t need soldiers; we need the same air plan that stopped ISIS coming to Erbil at midnight in 2014. “If we don’t get these guarantees, it would be stupid to go back into this situation because everyone who is pushing us to leave these villages is still there. The Arab villagers who wanted to take our land, our homes, our villages, and those who support ISIS are still there. The aggressor is still among us, it’s still the same thing additionally, there’s weak government in Baghdad, the parties who control this country are the same, nothing is new.” The archbishop was asked, if he cannot go back, or obtain guarantees from the USA, the UK, Europe, would he ask to prioritize Christians for IRAQI CHRISTIANS 1.4 million: Christians living in Iraq according to 1986 census. 1 million: Estimated number of Christians who made Iraq their home prior to 2003 and the invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein. 450,000: Estimated number of Christians still living in parts of Iraq as of 2014. 130,000: Estimated Christian population in Mosul, home to one of the most ancient Christian communities in the region, prior to 2003. 2,000: Estimated number of Christians still in Mosul as of 2014. 300,000: Iraqi refugees from Ninawa province, of which Mosul is capital, now living in the Kurdistan region, according to the UNHCR. 1.2 million: Iraqi refugees displaced by fighting in 2014, according to the UNHCR. emigration? The bishop’s emphatic answer was, “To leave this country is not a solution. The solution is to help us stay in our land. It’s not just the land we leave; it’s our historical holy land for us. We will live or die in our land.” The Archbishop’s Message The archbishop has messages to his people and to the West. The first message is addressed to Christians, “Tell the world that Christians are a model of peaceful coexistence, love, and peace. Join hands with our Christian people in Iraq. Please listen to us and urge your governments to provide support for us to keep our hope alive and give us the confidence that we will be able to live safely in this country.” To Western governments, he pleads, “Help us for the sake of humanity, not for material gain. Do all that is in your power to help us and to encourage us to remain in our country. “Safety and security, of course, are ongoing concerns and something we cannot provide. That will require cooperation among local and national Iraqi officials – and interested third parties. To the extent that there is peace in the area, it is up to those governments and third parties (other nations that have interests in Iraq and that are possessed of moral consciences) to devise ways to protect the newly returned citizens: Catholic, Orthodox, Yazidi, and Muslim. “What we need to establish in Nineveh is a beachhead of sorts – a proving ground for the reestablishment of multi-religious communities where amity among different faiths previously did exist. Muslims, who formerly lived in relative amity with their Christian neighbors, cannot help but be grateful for the efforts of Christians to rebuild Nineveh, because they too will be beneficiaries of renewed economic activity and, above all, peace. If it can succeed there, it may succeed elsewhere. It may be now or never.” Special editing by Jacqueline Raxter
<strong>JANUARY</strong> <strong>2022</strong> CHALDEAN NEWS 17