The Christian Iraqi Refugees in Lebanon;
A Humiliating Wait for Immigration Visas

Pierre Atallah
Al-Nahar; Lebanese newspaper
March 19, 07

Lebanon is a haven for the minorities, the persecuted of the East, and those fleeing the injustice of their leaders and their surroundings. Lebanon has ceased to be so since the beginning of its ordeal in 1975, after which the Lebanese groups needed someone to protect them against the injustice they inflicted on one another. Despite everything that happened on its land, some still hope to find in it a haven until the difficult days their country is experiencing are over. Among those are the Iraqi refugees, the second largest group of immigrants after the Palestinians. They chose Lebanon as a sanctuary until they can return to their country or emigrate to one of the parts of the world.

The file of the Iraqi refugees is big and requires chapters. The file of the Christian Iraqi refugees, however, is the most tragic, for others - Sunnis and Shi'is - are leaving [their country] in quest for safety and in order to get away from the incidents of the war and its bloody course, but they will inevitably return to their native country. The Christians, however, are leaving without returning, and are being uprooted from their long historical roots, which date thousands of years ago.

The suffering begins, but does not end, with threats of bullets and explosive charges or a mere letter with a clear threat to murder the "immoral infidel." In order to save his life, the Iraqi Christian flees with his family and whatever he could carry of his belongings either to the Christian areas in the northern Iraqi valley of Ninawa near Kurdistan, where safety and peace is provided for the Syriac, Chaldean, and Assyrian groups, or he leaves Iraq once and for all for Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, pending the final departure from the East to the United States, Australia, and Europe away from the horrific dreams of the East and the nightmares of massacres, displacement, and murder.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] estimates the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan at around 700,000 and those in Lebanon at between 20,000 and 40,000, 17 per cent of whom said they are Christians. This means that, in the highest estimate, the number of the Iraqi Christians in Lebanon is around 6,000, who live in the Christian areas there, especially where the followers of the Syriac, Chaldean, and Assyrian denominations live in Zahlah, Al-Matn, and Al-Ashrafiyah.

A Recurrent Asylum Tragedy

The tragedy of Hanna, an Iraqi refugee living in Lebanon, is fit to be an example of the suffering of the Iraqi Christians. Hanna, who is from Mosul, moved to Baghdad in the seasons of the in-country immigration during the old days of the Iraqi economic prosperity. He worked there as an employee until it became clear to him that working in the tourism sector generates a greater income. He opened a restaurant, which generated for him a lot of money, and he was therefore able to lead a prosperous life, get married, and build a family. This continued until the breakout of the latest war on Iraq. His work gradually deteriorated until he became unemployed. Things began to gradually worsen until the fundamentalists started to accuse him, as they accused his Christian neighbours and acquaintances in Iraq, of being an agent to the Americans and colonialism. Hanna's restaurant was blown up, and he received repeated warnings and threats. He packed his luggage and fled to Lebanon, leaving behind - once and for all - all the profits he made and the memories.

Hanna lives in Lebanon under semi-miraculous conditions. He spent all the money he saved to feed his kids. He is working to support his family and shoulder the burdens of an already high living cost in Lebanon. His condition, however, is much better than others. The followers of the Syriac denomination in Beirut found him a room with amenities where he lives with a family waiting for relief. The aid he received from the Christian associations in Lebanon and the world or from his fellow Iraqis was exclusively in-kind, such as sugar, rice, food cans, tea, and other stuff. He carries a UN refugee identity card waiting to get a visa to the United States so he and his family can leave without returning. He is trying to get news about the remaining members of his family in Iraq, who are in turn getting ready to leave unless they are provided with conditions for a decent living and, most importantly, protection.

The UNHCR confirms that, because of their large number, the Iraqi refugees in Lebanon are not receiving any financial aid, but that the UNHCR extends aid in emergency cases to the weakest and neediest of refugees following a meticulous study of their needs. That is why the UNHCR is trying to build a network of non-governmental organizations and charities in order to cover some of their various needs, including education and medical treatment. Habib Afram, head of the Syriac Association, who is directly concerned with the fate of his denomination members, says that "the tragedy is very big and requires huge funding and continued aid." In his opinion, the biggest problem is that "the Christians have no social and political support, and no one is inquiring about them, neither the Vatican nor the other countries that rush to help the other societies, leaving the Christians of the East to face their black fate."

Waiting to Leave Lebanon

The Christian Iraqi refugees avoid talking directly about what they are doing in order to emigrate to the West. What is for sure, however, is that none of them is thinking of returning to Iraq or staying in Lebanon. It is clear that their sole concern is to be able to contact, as soon as possible, their families who emigrated to Australia and the United States. They, therefore, gather at places where international calling cards are sold, and discuss with their relatives and acquaintances who went before them into exile or to their new countries means of getting the necessary immigration documents. In this field, the UNHCR is helping them according to what is called "resettlement in a third country." It officially justifies that by saying that it evaluates the need of each resettlement case separately and submits the respective files to several countries.

Ironically, the Iraqi Christians, who held fast and resisted the rule of the Seljuk, the Abbasids, the Memluk, the Ottomans, and finally the Iraqi Ba'thists, are today leaving their land, memories, and heritage under the US flag and US President Bush's policy, which claims to be seeking to spread democracy in the Middle East! Based on Afram's statistics and daily follow-up effort in detailing the conditions of the Christians in Iraq, the next 10 years might witness the end of the Christian presence there, something he said would cause a real disaster to the Christians of the East. He explained that the Christians had represented 20 per cent of the population of Iraq, and the best of statistics today indicate the presence of less than half a million of them in Iraq under very tragic conditions. He said: "All the Iraqi sects have their own security and militias, except the Iraqi Christians. The Kurds are supported by America; the Sunnis are supported by the entire Arab world; the Shi'is are supported by Iran; and the Turkmen are supported by Turkey. The Christians, on the other hand, are orphans, about whom no one cares. They are not even thinking of possessing weapons to defend themselves.

The persecution and injustice the Christians of Iraq are facing is an example of a historic suffering. They are blamed whenever something happens in any part of the world. This is what happened following the publication of the Danish cartoons that slandered the prophet and also when Pope Benedict XVI delivered his lecture on Islam. The result was the bombing of churches, the abduction and murder of priests, and other such despicable acts.

The Last Safe Haven

According to Afram, the only safe haven for the Christians of Iraq is the Kurdistan Region and the Ninawa Governorate, "where the Kurds are cunningly trying to prove to the world public, especially the US, that they are people who are open to all cultures and peoples, especially the Christians. They appointed Christian ministers in the regional government and elected Christian deputies to the Legislative Council in Kurdistan. At the borders of Kurdistan, the remaining Iraqi Christians are gathering in the Ninawa valley, where a large number of Christians are holding fast in scores of villages and towns. Those are calling for a region of their own within the framework of the promised Iraqi federal system of government, which is stipulated in the Iraqi Constitution, or for joining the Kurdistan region. The problem of the Christians in Iraq, however, is the US policy, which does not recognize this file, "because the Americans do not want more problems."

The Christian refugees in Lebanon repeat endless stories about crimes of murder, abduction, threat, and subjugation they faced. Every new refugee carries with him news about what happened and what others faced at the hands of the fundamentalists.

What is painful in these stories is that the spiritual leaders of the Iraqi Christians - patriarchs, bishops, and priests - are living in a state of worry and complete failure to get anything to help their communities, something which further intimidates the members of their Christian denominations.

In what is to some extent similar to what happened in Lebanon, the electoral system being adopted in Iraq has led to the demise of the Iraqi Christian political leadership before it was born. The electoral system turned the Christian representatives into followers of the Shi'i, Sunni, and Kurdish blocs.

In their long history, the Christians of Iraq experienced waves of persecution and displacement, but what is happening at present is the most severe. Meanwhile, Hanna, Bahnam, and Rufa are spending their days as refugees in Lebanon in misery and under humiliating living conditions in the hope of obtaining an entry visa to the countries that respect humans and do not discriminate against their citizens.