Stop the Genocide against Iraqi Christians

From Eddie Baccal

Local Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs Rally for Peace
in their Homeland

Southfield, MI — As the bloodshed continues in war-torn Iraq, local Iraqis are gathering for a Peace Rally on Saturday, June 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Southfield Civic Center.

The rally is a collaborative effort by several Chaldean, Assyrian and Syriac organizations in the Metro Detroit area.

“The fact that we have had persecution and martyrdom of our Christian people in Iraq throughout our history is not unusual,” said Ibrahim Ibrahim, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle. “But, what is strange and ironic is that this is happening to our people in the 21st century and under the ‘watchful’ eyes of the Iraqi government and the mighty armies of the Western Allies.”

Since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the population of Iraqi Christians has been drastically dwindling. More than 700,000 of the 1.2 million are either internally displaced seeking shelter in Kurdish Regional Province, and Nineveh Plain Cities or stranded in neighboring countries seeking asylum so they can be reunited with their families in the Diaspora.

“It is the moral duty of all Iraqis to attend this rally, stand behind this
cause, let our voice be heard so that we will generate the world support
needed to help the peace process in Iraq,” said Eddie Bacall, member of the Executive Committee of Chaldean Democratic Forum. “In the past, all Iraqis (Muslims, Christians and other religions) lived together in peace. It is time that we put our personal agendas aside and return to the time when people lived without religious discrimination.”

Cont.

Christians in Iraq are not armed. They are not protected by any militia, so they are easy targets and clearly unwanted in Iraq by the Muslim extremist. Earlier this month, a Chaldean priest and three deacons were shot dead in Mosul, Iraq, after Sunday mass. Churches have been bombed. Many Christians are being forced to convert to Islam, wear Islamic head scarves, pay burdensome taxes or ransom money to Muslims and forced to leave their homes and businesses with only the clothes on their backs.

Local Chaldeans, Assyrian and Syriacs are very concerned with the death, destruction and lack of protection for Christians in Iraq, which may lead to the extinction one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

“As the Chaldean American umbrella organization, CFA is responsible to awaken the world conscience to the atrocities and to the targeted religious and ethnic persecution inflected on these indigenous people of Iraq,” said Joe Kassab, executive director of the Chaldean Federation of America (the organization overseeing the influx of refugees set to arrive in the United States this summer). “We must save the Christians of Iraq from what seems to be intentional genocide and ethnic cleansing”.

What: Local Iraqi Peace Rally
When: Saturday, June 30 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Southfield Civic Center
Who: Hundreds of Iraqis from various community organizations

For more information regarding this release or to set up media interviews, call Vanessa Denha-Garmo, Denha Communications at 248-830-8605.