By Leen Alqudsi.
The Christians of Iraq are considered to be among the oldest surviving continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority are Eastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians; however, there is a very small community of Armenians, too.
In Iraq, Christians numbered about 1,500,000 in 2003, representing just over 5% of the population of the country. They numbered over 1.4 million in 1987 or 8% of the population. After the Iraq War, it was estimated that the number of Christians in Iraq had dropped to less than 450,000 by 2013 – with estimates as low as 200,000. Chaldean Catholics form the biggest group among the Christians of Iraq.
Christians live primarily in Baghdad, Basra, Musul, Erbil and Kirkuk and in Assyrian towns and regions such as the Nineveh Plains in the north.
During the 2014 Northern Iraq attack, the Islamic State of Iraq issued a decree in July, which stated that all Christians in the area of its control must pay a special tax of approximately $470 per family, convert to Islam, or die. Many of them took refuge in nearby Kurdish-controlled regions of Iraq. Christian homes have been painted with the Arabic letter (ن)(nūn) for Nassarah (an Arabic word reffers to the Christians and Jewish people) and a declaration that they are the property of the Islamic State. On 18th of July, the Jihadists seemed to have changed their minds and announced that all Christians would need to leave or be killed. Most of those who left had their valuable possessions stolen. According to Patriarch Louis Sako, there are no Christians remaining in Musul for the first time in the nation’s history.
And now, as many of displaced Iraqi families, they need any minor help.
Here comes IRAQ Builders team role to meet the humanity call and provide them some of their needs and the first step was to coordinate with the Christian Endowment.
They went to St. Joseph Syriac Alcathola Church and prepared it to receive the families that were displaced from Musul.
Food and medical aids were provided in addition to the electrical appliances to be distributed for them when they arrive to the church.
IRAQ Builders Team was founded to help every needy person regardless of his/her religion or sect, it is enough that he/she is a human to help and support him/her.
IRAQ Builders team was founded for all Iraqis.
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