CHRISTIANS are being “wiped out” in Iraq, and Canadian Catholics need to respond to this crisis the way they did to the Vietnamese boat people 30 years ago. That was the view of some Catholic charity representatives who attended a November 29 workshop on the Iraq refugee catastrophe.

The workshop, part of the Canadian Council for Refugees Fall Consultation November 29 – 30, revealed 4.2 million Iraqis have left their homes. Many have fled to neighbouring Syria and Jordan, putting massive pressure on their infrastructures. There are fears these countries could close their borders if they do not get more international assistance.

Carl Hétu, national secretary for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) Canada told the more than 100 representatives of charities and NGOs attending the workshop that the work of CNEWA in the Middle East corroborates the plight of the refugees outlined by the workshop panel.

Hétu made a plea for Iraqi Christians – who, he said, are in danger of systematic extinction at the hands of extremists. As a minority, they are being targeted, he said. “They have no resources and nowhere to turn.”

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In Iraq, there is an “incredible level of sectarian attack,” he said. The violence has led to prejudice in Canada – and fears that opening our doors to Iraqi refugees will lead to further sectarian violence here, Hétu said.

He said Arabs have suffered from tremendous bad press since 9-11, and that’s created a public perception that needs to be overcome. He said most people assume all Arabs are Muslim, not realizing some of the oldest Christian communities in the world are also Arab and still living in the Middle East.

“We have to inform Canadian Catholics: those are our brothers, they are suffering,” he said, noting this was one of the first Christian communities in the world that has sacrificed a great deal. “And we’re going to abandon them? There’s something wrong.”

– Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News

January 2008