Once
numbering some 750,000 in this mainly Muslim country of 30 million, Christians
have been trapped in the crossfire of sectarian strife ignited after the US-led
invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's secular dictatorship in 2003.
Alarmed
that their flock could face extinction, Iraqi Christian leaders appealed to the
Vatican for help.
Pope
Benedict, also worried about the shrinking Christian presence in the
Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, has called a synod of bishops for
Oct. 10-24 to discuss how churches can work together to preserve Christianity's
oldest communities.
The
special assembly will consider a Vatican document that decries "disregard
for international law," human rights abuses and an exodus of Christians fleeing
conflict in the Middle East.
The
document, released in June, says Christian emigration is "particularly
prevalent because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the resulting
instability in the Middle East."
It also
cites political instability in Lebanon and menacing conditions in Iraq,
"where the war has unleashed evil forces."
Post-invasion
bloodshed and chronic insecurity have spooked Iraqi Christians, many of whom
feel they have no future here.
"We
decided to leave after we lost hope of living in peace in Iraq. It was not our
choice," said Hermiz, the shopkeeper who is taking his family from the
volatile northern city of Mosul to Holland, where his brother already lives.
He cast a
dejected eye over the few remaining goods in his shop. His two-storey family
home, replete with balconies and marble, also looks forlorn with most of the
furniture sold.
Hundreds
of thousands of Christians, described by Pope Benedict as Iraq's "most
vulnerable religious minority" in an appeal for better security this year,
have left since 2003.
Perhaps
only half of a Christian community rooted here for centuries remains, although
no official figures exist.
And more
Christians are leaving, despite a plunge in overall violence in the past three
years as bloodletting between majority Shiites and once dominant Sunni Muslims
tapers off.
Every now
and then Christians still come under attack, especially in the northern
province of Nineveh, considered the last urban stronghold of Al-Qaeda militants.
It is not
always clear whether they are targeted for their faith, for the headlines their
woes generate in Western media, for their political allegiances or for other
reasons.
In
February, gunmen killed eight Christians in the streets or at work in Mosul,
prompting thousands of others to flee.
The
slayings occurred two weeks before an inconclusive parliamentary election that
has produced no new government six months later. The stalemate threatens Iraq's
fragile security, along with most other aspects of life in a traumatized
nation.
In May
bomb blasts near a bus carrying Christian university students in Mosul killed
at least one and wounded 100.
Attacking
Christians is an effective way to highlight the shortcomings of Iraq's security
forces, attracting more media attention than the far higher casualties among
Iraqi Muslims.
Christians,
like other minorities in northern Iraq, feel insecure as the region's Arabs and
Kurds feud over land and oil.
"The
departure is in full swing for many reasons: The security and economic
situation, and the direct attacks and kidnappings that Christians have been
exposed to," said Bassim Bello, mayor of Telkaif near Mosul. He said 1,050
families in the mainly Christian town had fled abroad in 2008 alone.
Exile is
often heart-breaking, as it is for Hirmiz and his family, quitting the home
they built 20 years ago in Mosul. "I used to reject the idea of leaving,
but I've got used to it over time, especially when I hear of the killing of
friends," sighed Um Edwar, Hermiz's wife. "I also feel sad about the
garden, which I adore. No one will take care of it like I do."
