The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> an interesting article...and Taco.

an interesting article...and Taco.
Posted by pancho (Moderator) - Saturday, August 17 2013, 5:09:08 (UTC)
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...seems he's come back from vacation and gone back out to lunch.

Some interesting reality checks in this article...



Translated from Al-Hayat (Pan Arab).
اقرا المقال الأصلي باللغة العربية

Many Christian leaders and activists, as well as Kurdish and Arab leaders, once believed that Iraqi Kurdistan would serve as a temporary safe haven for Christians. Christians could reside there until Iraq's political and security situations stabilize.

Feeling increasingly marginalized, Iraqi Christians residing in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq consider emigration more and more each day.

...just to set the scene....imagine several Muslims countries pooling their resources together (and imagine they are far stronger than the United States) and waging a 20 year war against the people of the United States, who never did a thing to them...imagine these Muslim countries imposing Sanctions on Americans which led to the death by starvation and disease of hundreds of thousand American children...and then imagine the small American Muslim community being SHOCKED that their Christian neighbors turned against them, or disrespected their mosques, even "attacking" them...imagine such a thing...and then ask yourself what kind of idiot Muslim Americans would think this war against America by Muslim nations was a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY.....for THEM?

...that will pretty well explain what kind of idiots we have...who cheered on this war against Iraq and who now come crying that "we are not LIKED" by Muslims!

According to reports, the number of Christian families who fled to cities in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Ninevah Plains is estimated at more than 65,000. These people, including civil rights activist Sadi Kiryakos, were correct in their assessment — Kurdistan was in fact a safe haven for Christians, but it was only seen as a "last stop" before the final migration out of Iraq.

...all of Iraq had been a safe haven for Christians, for thousands of years, until Western Christians attacked.

Christians living in Iraqi Kurdistan do not usually confronts risks such as kidnapping or murder. They do not often fall victim to car bombs and improvised explosive devices. The most serious risk they face is traffic accidents, according to Kiryakos. Still, emigration via Iraqi Kurdistan is ongoing, sometimes accelerating or decelerating, but "it never stops."

...why would when the war against Iraq and the misery it spawned "never stops"?

Violence is not always the cause behind emigration

This means, according to Rev. Peter Hajji, that violence was by no means the reason behind the exodus of Christians from Iraqi Kurdistan out of Iraq.

Hajji believes that Christians who come from communities like Baghdad and Ninevah that are relatively open and mixed find themselves forced to live in a conservative tribal society. According to Hajji, this has triggered a “sense of alienation” among Christians who face difficulties adapting to a society whose language they do not even understand.

...assyrians are used to tribal societies...just not Muslim ones.

According to the Christian researcher Fabien Naoum, migration is also triggered by problems such as the employment system, which grants jobs to Kurds before other minorities, and cultural problems related to language and lifestyle.

...and you suppose if anyone was crazy enough to give assyrians a country Qurds would NOT be discriminated against in employment?

Naoum says that the violence in Zakho and Dahuk in 2011 that impacted the Christians is the main cause behind migration from Iraqi Kurdistan. According to him, this violence was a natural consequence of rising religious extremism in the Kurdish community. This community produced one of the first militant organizations in Iraq, Ansar al-Islam, which preceded al-Qaeda's violent attacks in Iraq.

...all of these "natural" consequences came about because of an illegal war against Iraq people and society and not because of anything Qurds did...Qurds have merely reacted to what Christians did to THEM.

Naoum recalls that Christian families used to consider Iraqi Kurdistan an ideal place to live. This, however, is no longer the case following the events of Zakho, which resulted in a local struggle between Kurdish parties and eventually led to operations that targeted Christians.

...why shouldn't people target CHRISTIANS? Why does that strike Christians as so odd when they have been TARGETING Muslims for decades...and Jews before them? Who is the teacher here...and who the student?

Pascal Wardeh, a former minister in the central government, mentions another factor: lack of interest in finding a haven for all those targeted Christians.

..let them leave the country...their way has been paved for them by Christians, not Muslims.

Diaa Boutros, secretary of the National Chaldean Council, believes that most Christians who had taken refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan were downtrodden workers and ordinary employees. As far as the capitalists are concerned, the situation has improved for some here, but the economic conditions of most have deteriorated because they left all their possessions in Baghdad or other provinces. These individuals, according to Boutros, are the ones to worry about because their desire to emigrate will increase amid current difficulties.

....current difficulties were made current by Christians, not Qurds or Iraqis....lay the blame where it belongs...how many Iraqis would welcome back Saddam?

Journalist Namik Rayfan says that Christians who have sought refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan usually face major problems at work, especially hard-working ordinary people. They suffer from competition with Asian labor in the restaurants and stores, knowing that the public jobs are often granted to Kurds before Christians.

...and why not? Which religious group has been most destructive to Iraq....Muslims....Asians....Iraqis....Arabs...or Christians? Why shouldn't they reap what they've sown...and continue to sow?

The desire to travel is not limited to low-income Christians; it affects even the rich who own huge capital ventures in the region.

Fares Hanna, a contractor in his 40s, lives in Iraqi Kurdistan and is very concerned about the political situation and its potential to degrade further. The situation “does not bode well,” says Fares, especially after the escalation of the conflict between the two ruling parties and the opposition forces, which drove their supporters to the streets in the spring of 2011. Fares says that the overall situation could lead to a repeat of the civil war that broke out between the two main parties in Iraqi Kurdistan between 1994 and 1998.

...yes it could...thank America.

Francis Zia, an Iraqi trader, mentions another source of concern, namely some cases of extortion suffered by prominent Christian traders at the hands of a number of greedy and influential politicians. Zia was repeatedly forced to enter into partnerships with some of these politicians, whereby Zia would have to provide the money. The officials' mission would be limited to providing protection for Zia and the project.

...shit happens. The war turned out to be a golden opportunity for some people after all...these "greedy" people have lost ALL....so why shouldn't the few Christians in the country pay reparations?

For his part, Aboulhed Afram blamed the Iraqi political blocs for the marginalization of Christian citizens and for making them feel like second-class citizens. In most cases, Christians do not receive high-status public positions, instead these positions are reserved for dominant Iraqi political parties.

...no, no. They still don;t get it...not only do they look to the wrong people for help, they still blame the wrong people...no Muslim or Qurd is doing this....this was made the new reality in Iraq by CHRISTIANS, from America Britain and other such nations.

Politicians, clergymen and Christians who were interviewed by the author of this investigation all agree that a large part of the operation to convince Christians to stay in Iraq depends on the Iraqis themselves, and that the major part of the responsibility must be assumed by the governments of Baghdad and Erbil.

...now why would any friend to the Christians of Iraq ask them to stay? Why...so there can be more martyrs to weep over...so maybe the United States will finally DO something? What assyrian family would want their children to STAY in Iraq...and join them there?

The two governments must work to provide enough jobs for Christians, stop the abuses, facilitate internal resettlement, overcome educational difficulties and issue laws to protect them from attacks and accusations of blasphemy. Failure to do this makes it more difficult to convince Christians to stay in Iraq.

...oh, they must, must they? Why? I would throw every last Christian out of Iraq...because these people have ever presented their backsides to foreign Christians who've been attacking and robbing Iraq for a century at least. Christians in the MidEast will continue to be what they have always been: a convenient pretext for the West to come "protect them"...have we not seen enough of what that really means?

Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako made a speech in which he called on the Muslims of Iraq to be more compassionate toward their Christian brothers. “We Christians are your partners in humanity. We share the same homeland. We were here before the advent of Islam, and we have stayed by you in sickness and in health. Keep us here for your own good. Our emigration from Iraq harms you more than it harms us.”

...no it doesn't. Get rid of them once and for all....it isn;t what Iraqis wanted..it's what assyrians have been working for for decades if not centuries...anyone looking down from outer space at the history of local Christian communities living in Muslim nations could only conclude that the assyrians did NOT want to remain in Iraq.

Rafael Aichoa, who is in his 40s, has lived in Baghdad his whole life. He knows that his culture and sense of belonging to Iraq and the East will completely disappear after a few years in exile, but he will never be able to forget his parents and his brother, Edmond.

..yes, it will....so, it would seem that, contrary to AINA and assyrian propaganda, Iraq is the one place in the world where the "assyrian"/Christian heritage was SAFE! It is outside Iraq that this culture is being ATTACKED...only it isn't even that...no one is attacking it anywhere...it's just that when assyrians leave Iraq they and their kids get assimilated...they GIVE IT AWAY...no one TAKES it from them and no one ATTACKS them...but, they feel so humiliated that this DEAR heritage turns out to be worthless to their children that they invent the lie that they are PERSECUTED and ATTACKED and that's the reason their numbers are dwindling, soon to be nothing.

'''''"Oh, are you saying that anything is OUR fault"? Yes, you idiot child of a nayshun, I am saying that!



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