IRAQ: Bishop of Erbil highlights the urgent need of Iraq’s Christians
Archbishop Warda sends video message to the benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need
Chaldean Archbishop Bashir Warda of Erbil, Iraq visited the UK as the guest of Aid to the Church in Need. His objective was to highlight the urgent need to:
- Continue emergency aid for at least 100,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains now in Erbil, Kurdish northern Iraq that remain in desperate need – mostly Christians, but also Yazidis and others, who are in urgent need of food, shelter (rent), heating, schooling and medical aid.
- Raise awareness about the long awaited plan to enable Christians to return to their homes in the Nineveh Plains now that Daesh (ISIS) have been forced out.
The archbishop held a large number of high level meetings during his visit.
ACN is committed to helping Christian IDPs, this May the charity has just paid out more than £420,000 to provide six months’ rent for 1,800 displaced Christian families.
The archbishop said: “The need to support our internally displaced Christians continues. Emergency aid is still critical.
“We pray that our brothers and sisters do not forget us in the coming critical months.
“On behalf of my people – who have suffered so much these past years and look to the future with apprehension – please may I ask for your prayers.”
He added: “In a world where there are so many tragedies demanding attention, we pray for a small share of compassion to enable us, the Christians of Iraq, to stay in the lands that have been our home for so long.”
Video: Archbishop Warda message to the benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need
