A Symbol of Hate Rallies ICC& Others To Help Iraq’s Christians

ADVOCACYGiving a Voice to

Christians in Iraq

FEATUREISIS Seeks

Resurrection of Islamic Caliphate

INTERVIEWSMosul

Christians Share Their

Stories

ANSWERSWhat is ISIS?

How are they threatening the Church?

JANUARY 2015WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG

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Q: Are all the persecut-ed Christians still in Iraq or have they fled? Are there any safe

zones around them to take refuge in? — sandeep K.

A: Nearly all Christians have left the areas under ISIS control (Mosul, Nineveh Plain) in Western and

Central Iraq. There remain some who are trapped and were unable to leave because of medical reasons or other difficulties. Most of them fled to the Kurdistan region in Northern Iraq. They are protected by the Kurdish peshmerga forces. In this area they are safe for now, but it will not be a long-term solution. Many have already left. Hundreds of families have already arrived in places like Lebanon, Jordan.

Q: Should the West repatriate Arab Christians to protect them from persecution? — ian f.

A: The best solution would be for people to be able to live in their homelands, free from persecution.

When there is conflict like this, it creates a struggle between the need to go where there is safety and opportunity for your family and what will happen to the coun-try if all of the Christians were to leave.

There is no one right answer for each family, and we are grateful for govern-ments that do open doors for those who are fleeing persecution to find refuge. It is a challenge to not encourage mass emi-gration but also provide humanitarian aid.

Q: When are world leaders going to take action against this plague called ISIS? Why isn’t there a big outcry

against these atrocities? Does the world think it is ok to kill Jews and Christians? — lloyd s.

A: It did seem like the world was slow to realize what was happening. The con-flict in Syria has created

a humanitarian crisis larger even than the genocide in Rwanda. Those oppos-ing the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad largely were not freedom fighters, but violent extremists like ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate. Now the world seems to have woken up to this, but leaders are still unsure about what action to take.

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Answers

Q & A

Threats to Christians in Iraq

The crisis in Iraq and its impact on Christians has been a headline news story for months, but there has also been lots of questions about what is going on and what Christians in the West can do to help. We had a num-ber of supporters submit questions about the physical threats for Chris-tians in Iraq, their spiritual condition, and what can be done to help.

‘The horrific abuses that ISIS has committed against women are heartbreaking. … ISIS has spoken openly about their justification fortreating women as slaves to be sold, sexually abused, forced into marriages and given as rewards to Jihadist fighters.’

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‘The horrific abuses that ISIS has committed against women are heartbreaking. … ISIS has spoken openly about their justification for treating women as slaves to be sold, sexually abused, forced into marriages and given as rewards to Jihadist fighters.’

The military engagement has started, but it remains limited as the United States and others are hesitant to start a new, long-term war in the Middle East. Across the world, we need to raise our collective voices to speak out to protect vulnerable communities who are facing persecution and threats. This can move governments to act. Our leaders will care about an issue when they know that their people care about the issue.

Q: Are Christian women and girls safe in Iraq? — nacKy G.

A: The horrific abuses that ISIS has committed against women are heartbreaking. While the total number

of women who have been kidnapped is unknown, some estimate more than 7,000 — mainly religious minorities including Christians, Yazidis and others. ISIS has spoken openly about their justification for treating women as slaves to be sold, sexu-ally abused, forced into marriages, and given as rewards to Jihadist fighters.

Q: How many people are still trapped on that moun-tain? What are the chanc-es that they will be able

to leave soon? Is America still militar-ily protecting them from ISIS and still providing humanitarian assistance? — John r.

A: The crisis on Sinjar Mountain, when ISIS trapped thousands of Yazidis in the mountains

with no escape route, was one of the inci-dents that sparked greater international intervention in Iraq. An escape route was opened up for them to be able to get down from the mountain, many actually cross-ing the border into Syria before making their way around to Kurdistan or back to relatively safe areas in northern Iraq.

While the imminent danger was solved, there remain villages across northern Iraq that still have nothing more than a few local men with rifles standing guard. If ISIS were to decide to retake those areas, they would face very little resistance.

Q: Are the Christians arming themselves to fight ISIS? — ryan t.

A: This has been talked about, not so much in terms of fighting back as Christians but as citizens defending

their homes and villages and participating with the Iraqi and Kurdish military.

In some villages, they have formed defense units, but these are very limited in the weapons that they have access to compared to what ISIS is using.

Christians are often known to be peace-makers in a region that is hostile and rife with sectarian violence, so the idea of them taking up arms is relatively new, but they are wanting to participate in protect-ing their homes and country from these threats.

So the answer is yes. Many Christians have joined the Kurdish forces and are protecting themselves in this way.

Q: How is their spiritual morale in the face of such danger? I am praying for them. — rebecca a.

A: This is one of the most surprising and encourag-ing things we have seen during this crisis — how

so many have shared that their faith has actually grown stronger. One woman told us, “When you have lost everything, you cling to God even tighter.” So in the face of danger, many have turned to God and held even tighter to Him and have seen their faith become more important to them.

Q: What are the priorities for prayer? — Janet s.

A: First would certainly be the prayer for protection and for peace. Many of the other needs are a result

of the violent conflict that has driven so

many out of their homes. Also pray for the provision of needs — basics like blankets, coats, heaters, and food are big concerns.

Finally, pray for the faith of those in Iraq to not be shaken, but that they would continue to rely on God. There are many who in this time of crisis have had oppor-tunities to speak of the love that God has shown in the Gospel. Church leaders have told us how there is a wide-open harvest to reach people that they have never been able to talk with before.

Q: Did you hear any stories of miraculous deliverance or other God-happenings? — Kristin K.

A: One amazing story was that of Pastor Karam (told earlier) who was held at an ISIS checkpoint, asked

directly if he was a Christian, and thought he was likely going to be killed, but was actually released. Another testimony of God’s working was when we asked lead-ers about whether there had been mass

killings of Christians. He answered that his only explanation for this was God’s protection, that he allowed many to flee before fighters came and protected many even through the dangers.

Q: I would like to know their story, what is their dream, what do they hope for? We want to carry this

story, dream and hope until it is ful-filled. Let us bear one another’s bur-dens and so fulfill the law of Christ. — ben v.d.m.

A: Most of these families have lived in Iraq for centuries. Over the past decade, over 1 million

Christians have left, so those who remain have chosen to stay. Their biggest dream was to be able to live freely and safely in their homes. Now that they have been driven out — many feel for the last time — most expressed not even knowing what would be the next step. Their dream would be for a peaceful Iraq where they are able to freely live as Christians.

Q & A

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Answers

Spiritual State of Christians In Iraq

Q: What did you encoun-ter when you trav-eled to Iraq? How can you be sure the money

goes to those who need it most? — Grace l.

A: On our trip we spent time together with our local partners, both church-es and organizations, to

assess their needs for ourselves and to also see how they assess their needs. By working together with local groups who are regularly going and visiting areas, it gives us a constantly updated picture of the changing needs.

We have been working in two ways to make sure that our aid is making a dif-ference. We are helping the church com-munity invest heavily and consistently in hundreds of families and really make a difference in their lives.

The other way that we have been working is to identify communities that have fallen through the cracks. Much of our assis-tance has gone outside of the main cities and is providing water, food, and winter-ization materials to people that have not been receiving aid from others.

Q: Apart from praying, how can we as individu-als or as a group practi-cally help in the crisis?

— ross f.

A: Two practical steps that can be taken are to speak and to give. Often, once an incident falls out of the

news cycle, people quickly forget about it.

This has happened in many ways with the Syrian refugee crisis, and it could happen with Iraq, as well. So keep following the story, keep sharing with others about it, and keep pressuring your members of Congress to engage on it.

Second, there remain finan-cial needs to provide contin-ued aid to the community in Iraq. So support ICC and others as they con-tinue to work alongside of local churches to help care for these communities that have been displaced.

Q: Did you take [the dis-placed Iraqi Christians] food, etc., or just take pic-tures and ask questions?

— diana G.

A: Since June, shortly after Mosul fell, ICC has been providing assistance through local partners in

Iraq. The needs have changed over the past few months, but we continue to pro-vide tangible assistance, as well as help-ing to tell their stories so that the world knows and cares about what is happening.

Q: When a person donates money to ICC, how is it used to help those brothers and sisters who are under

persecution from ISIS? Is the money distributed worldwide where needed? Or can one designate a preference when giv-ing? — Gary p.

A: ICC offers our donors the ability to give toward spe-cific needs in a few dif-ferent ways. We have des-

ignated funds like Community Rebuild that go directly to projects like what has happened in Iraq. We also have our Hand of Hope funds that are geographically tied to a region, so you can designate funds to the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, or the Far East. Then, for projects like Iraq, we will have a campaign where donors give to a specific project.

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‘We are helping the church community invest heavily and consistently in hundreds of families and really make a difference in their lives.’

Physical Needs of Christians In Iraq

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Advocacy

I n auGust of 2014, the specter of annihilation at the hands of the most savage terrorist organization of the 21st century hung over the

150,000 strong Christian community of northern Iraq. Driven from their ancient homes en masse, tens of thousands of Christians were confronted with a dark and uncertain future.

Persecution and suffering on such an enormous scale demanded a proportional response greater than anything that could be mustered by the private community, so ICC’s advocacy department went to work. Our goals were straightforward: determine exactly what was happening on the ground and report back to leaders

in Washington D.C. so that, to the maximum extent possible, the tremendous resourc-es flowing from the United States to Iraq were used to effec-tively assist the per-secuted. Here is how we accomplished those goals.

Getting the Facts Right

First, we went in as everyone else was

going out. Utilizing well-established rela-tionships on Capitol Hill we let congres-sional offices discreetly know ahead of time that we would be visiting the very borders of the war zone with ISIS to assess the situation for the tens of thou-sands of displaced Christians. At this point, ISIS had been advancing rapidly on Erbil, and the U.S. consulate had ordered the evacuation of all non-essential U.S. personnel. With the U.S. consulate on lockdown and many NGOs sending their staff to safer locations, congressional offices were eager to get information beyond the media headlines.

A few hours after touching down in northern Iraq, our team was ushered past the high-security entrance of the U.S. consulate to meet with staff covering the political and refugee situation. They gave us their best overview of the situation, but admitted they were unable to leave the consulate to learn anything directly for themselves. We promised to relay impor-tant information back as we spent the next few days meeting and interviewing pas-tors. We were also eager to learn exactly how, or if, the more than $100 million in U.S. aid to Iraq for 2014 was being used to help the Christian community.

Over the next three days, ICC’s advo-cacy director extensively questioned pastors, ministry leaders, and displaced Christians about the aid they were receiv-ing. To our shock, it appeared that almost all of the food, water, and shelter reaching

Iraq’s displaced Christians was coming from the local community or private organi-zations like ICC.

This situation was unsustain-able. We discov-ered that almost the entirety of U.S. funding was being routed through various United Nations agencies.

ICC Advocacy Goes to Work on Iraq

By Isaac Six, ICC’s Advocacy Director

Our advocacy efforts are helping secure aid funds and shape policy.

‘Despite millions of dollars in expenditures, little to no U.S. aid was reaching the Christian community.’

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Near the end of our mission, we met with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and pressed them on what exact-ly was being done to aid the IDP com-munities. It quickly became apparent that even though Christians had been driven out of Mosul almost two months before, United Nations agencies were still trying to “gear up to capacity” and had not been able to provide much relief.

Time for a ChangeImmediately after returning to the

United States, ICC was called in to brief the International Religious Freedom office at the State Department. We relayed what we had seen on the ground and strongly emphasized that despite millions of dol-lars in expenditures, little to no U.S. aid was reaching the Christian community. The problem, it seemed, was that U.S. funding needed to go directly to “imple-menting partners” or NGOs on the ground that could actually get help to those in need.

We followed up our meeting with the State Department by meeting with key religious freedom allies in Congress. Soon, the State Department started receiv-ing much closer scrutiny about the use of U.S. funding in northern Iraq. On September 10th, just a month after our visit to Erbil, the U.S. announced an addi-tional $48 million aid package to assist the nearly 1.8 million internally displaced persons in Iraq. This time, however, there was a key difference: $28 million dollars would go directly to NGOs on the ground who could then get badly needed help to Christians and others faster than anyone else.

Finally, on October 16th, ICC held a major congressional staff briefing on Capitol Hill to help shape U.S. policy in Iraq. Enlisting the expertise of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Open Doors USA, we took the lessons learned from our on-the-ground work in Iraq to inform and educate more than 90 congressional staffers and representatives from the NGO community.

By time of writing, direct U.S. assistance to NGOs working in Iraq had increased to over $65 million.

The World Needs to KnowIn addition to our work to re-route mil-

lions of dollars of U.S. aid to assist the persecuted church, we also launched a strong effort to make America and the rest of the world aware of what was taking place on the ground.

On top of numerous audio interviews, ICC’s advocacy department conducted four video reports, two television inter-views, a livestream interview session from Erbil, eight in-country project updates, and a social media question and answer session for our Facebook and Twitter fol-lowers. Partially as a result, spiritual and financial support has poured in to bring life and hope to the displaced Christians of Iraq.

Though the dark threat of ISIS still looms over many and great need remains, today the Church in Iraq is learning that their brothers and sisters around the world have not forgotten them, and that there are a few even in the halls of Congress who will take up their burden as if it were their own.

Our staff met with Iraqi Christians to learn their needs.and advise policymakers accordingly.

BELOW: In addition to being a voice for the persecuted to policymakers, ICC has conducted numerous interviews to help educate the public on this ongoing crisis.

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