This CASCA trip was decided upon by the CASCA Board pursuant to a continuing effort to be in contact with organizations, individuals, and government officials in Iraq, in the interest of facilitating better communication and contact. CASCA’s previous trips have been recorded and made available to the public.²

The trip became of critical importance after the massacre of churchgoers on Sunday, October 31, 2010, in Baghdad, Iraq.

The trip began from Chicago (Guiliana Younan and Robert DeKelaita) and from Detroit (Ismat Karmo, Joseph Kassab, and Sabah Hermiz). We met in Chicago and flew to Frankfurt, Germany, where we met with the KRG’s Washington Representative, Mr. Dasko Sherwani. After a few hours at Frankfort, we headed to Iraq.

On November 13, 2010, we landed in Erbil to a VIP welcome. Upon our arrival at the airport, our luggage was processed and placed in government vehicles. We were then driven to Nobel Hotel at the entrance of the town of Ankawa, which is only a few minutes from the Erbil airport.

On the very same night, we were greeted by Mr. Johnson Siyawoosh, from the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council (PC). We had a brief meeting and discussions and retired for the night. Mr. Siyawoosh is a prominent member of the PC.

On the morning of November 14, 2010, we contacted Mr. Younadim Kanna, a prominent Iraqi Parliament member and the Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, in Baghdad, Iraq, and informed him that we wanted to meet with him and other leaders of the ADM and offered to meet in either Baghdad or Ankawa. Mr. Kanna informed us that his preference was to meet in Baghdad, but that a meeting in Ankawa was also possible, via other officials of the ADM, at the branch office there. Mr. Kanna informed us that a general meeting of the ADM was to take place in Baghdad and that most of the leadership would be there. He suggested we either come to Baghdad or wait for the end of the Baghdad meeting.

CASCA also contacted Mr. Basim Ballo, the mayor of Tell Kepe, and informed him that we would likely visit Tell Kepe soon. He noted that he was about to go to Baghdad and would return. He informed us that he would be happy to see us.

A subsequent conversation was had between Mr. Younadim Kanna and Mr. Robert DeKelaita, in which various issues concerning the current crises and cohesion of the Christian parties were discussed.

On November 14, 2010, we met Dr. Fuad Hussein and Mr. Falah Mustapha Bakir, the Chief of Staff of President Barzani and the Head of the Foreign Relations Department, respectively. The meeting was attended by the CASCA delegation and Mr. Dasko Sherwani. A very fruitful discussion was had on the current tragedy being experienced by the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in Iraq, namely the massacre at the Church of Sayidat Najat in Baghdad and its consequences.

Mr. Ismat Karmo pointed out that the current situation was one in a series of problems encountered by our community and that this long line of tragic events, CASCA felt, could be better handled if the question of an autonomous region was better supported by the KRG.

Dr. Hussein pointed out that the issue of autonomy was not as immediate as the current tragedy and asked for our help in helping the refugees. The needs of the IDPs are apparent he noted; security, jobs, housing, transportation, education, and healthcare, and called for a strong role of Christian churches.

Mr. Robert DeKelaita stressed that Iraq had the very first responsibility toward its citizens, a point well understood by Dr. Hussein and Mr. Bakir. The KRG, they informed us, was forming a committee to deal with the issue of Christian refugees that were going to be coming into the KRG region. The burden, Dr. Fuad Hussein noted, was too great for the KRG to shoulder alone and noted that Baghdad was not responding properly. The KRG’s position, as expressed by Dr. Fuad Hussein, is that Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution holds the key and that pressing forward with it will help all parties. Mr. Guiliana Younan and Mr. Joseph Kassab praised Mr. Dasko Sherwani for his work with the community in the United States and noted that a partnership with the KRG could be agreed upon in DC.

It should be noted that the KRG leadership is asking for CASCA’s assistance to better connect with US Administration and Congress. Specifically, there is a need to have members of the US Administration and US Congress visit Kurdistan. Also the KRG is suggesting forging a partnership in the form of joint committee to quickly find help in the U.S and Europe to assist our IDPs.

The KRG and CASCA agreed that they do not want our people to leave the Kurdistan region when they arrive there. Again, CASCA suggested to KRG representatives that the plight of our people and that autonomy should be officially addressed by their Government and Parliament. At least a resolution should be introduced to that effect.

KRG’s officials collectively are requesting Iraqi American Christians to come to Kurdistan and invest. This will help our IDPs. Finally, the KRG officials suggested that all Christians of Iraq must unite and work together.

On November 14, 2010, we also met with Mr. Sarkis Aghajan, at his residence in Ankawa. Mr. Aghajan is the former Minister of Finance in the KRG. All of the CASCA delegation was present, as well as Mr. Johnson Siyawoosh. Discussion centered on the issue of autonomy and its possibilities in either the Nineveh Plain or in the KRG areas – such as Ankawa and other towns and villages. Mr. Aghajan demonstrated a keen awareness of the issues facing our people and displayed a deep commitment toward our goals and mission to remain and strengthen our existence through ties to the land. 

After the meeting with Mr. Aghajan, on the evening of November 14, 2010, we met with PC’s head, and three other members, including Mr. Johnson Siyawoosh. Discussion centered on the issue of autonomy for Chaldean Syriac Assyrian parties working together. The following points were reiterated by the PC:

1. Nineveh province hires Christians in a police force, but then intentionally assigns them to dangerous and hot spots forcing them to quit.
2. In Qaraqosh, a Christian village, once a month there is a new petition to build a mosque.
3. There is a serious attempt to change the ChadoAssyrian vllages’ demography;
4. PC’s Parliament member will submit the demand for an Autonomous Region as the only viable solution to the Iraqi Parliament;
5. ChaldoAssyrian people today believe in the Autonomous Region more than any other time in history;
6. ADM is distorting the AR and creating fears among Arab nationalist, a claim that AR is Kurdish plan to annex the Nineveh plain to KRG.
7. City of Qaraqosh is 45,000 people have 20 city council members, 8 of them are ChaldoAssyrian, and the rest are Muslims.
8. Translating the idea of AR into action, and forcing the others to accept it as a reality on the ground.
9. Implement the AR plan in KRG as step one and then in Nineveh plain as step two.
10. Demand to unify the ChaldoAssyrian parties and organizations political agenda.
11. Serious desire to unify the efforts and work together as one front even if ADM desired to stay out of the alliance.

On November 15, 2010, we met with the Governor of Erbil, Mr. Nawzad Mawlood, to discuss local issues in the town of Erbil and Ankawa. The idea of cooperating in various matters – such as a university - was discussed. The governor informed us that the government is forming a committee to help Christian refugees from Baghdad and other parts of Iraq who are coming into the northern areas. At the time of this writing, the numbers of refugees heading into the northern areas has numbered approximately 700 families.

The Governor of Erbil will open the door for investors and support all NGOs to assist IDPs. Universities are overloaded and there is a need to establish more with foreign investment. He stated that he is willing to have a liaison between his office and our community in Erbil via CASCA.

In addition to discussion on local matters in Erbil, the Governor had notified us that an international team had located the ancient Assyrian Temple ‘of the Four Gods’ (the name of the city of Erbil, or Arba’ilu). The team would dig into the citadel of Erbil (apparently by going down via a 50 sq. meter entry down to the original city). The CASCA team had an opportunity to view the team meeting.

The ancient city of Erbil is the oldest extant city in the world, and was one of the cities of ancient Assyria that survived the fall of Nineveh and of the Assyrian empire. The site, undoubtedly, would be a major tourist destination. The Governor welcomed the CASCA team to visit the citadel and offered to accompany us.

Also on November 15, 2010, we met with the Minister of Interior, Mr. Karim Sinjari. One of the major points expressed to us was a very strong concern about the image of the KRG among Americans and pled with us to help in this regard. Specifically, the Minister pointed out that our groups in the United States and Europe have played a role in unfairly criticizing the KRG and Kurds in general. He sought our partnership in many matters and this will be discussed in a future CASCA meeting. The CASCA team, as with Dr. Fuad Hussein, noted that we welcomed the opportunity to become partners – in DC – so that better communication and coordination be possible in this regard. Mr. Sinjari agreed that this was a wonderful idea.
The KRG Minster of Interior strongly desires to see Americans helping. He noted that there was a need to build 1500 schools in the area. He asked the CASCA team, and our community in the West, not to encourage Christians to leave Iraq, but to take part in rebuilding it.

During the evening of November 15, 2010, we met with heads of our parties – particularly those who either left the PC or were ousted (we are still unsure since both parties’ statements on this are inexplicably opposed). These included the following:
- The Assyrian Patriotic Party (headed by Mr. Nimrod Baito, the former Minister of Tourism);
- The Bet Nahrain Democratic Party (headed by Mr. Romeo Hakkari, former parliament member of the KRG);
- The Chaldean Democratic Forum (headed by Mr. Saeed Shamaya)
- The Chaldean National Congress (headed by Mr. Dhia Petrus) did not attend but attended another meeting
on November 16.

It had been resolved that CASCA will attempt to reconcile these parties – along with others, including the Assyrian Democratic Movement - and will issue a recommendation at a later time.

Subsequently, CASCA met with Dhia Petrus, the head of the Chaldean National Congress. He expressed a desire for unity, but also noted that he had reservations about PC, noting that it has transformed itself from an umbrella organization into political party. Mr. Petrus noted that the national name of our people should be left for a future debate or discussion, but essentially agreed that the current name in use (Chaldean Syriac Assyrian) can suffice for now. He noted that punishing the people who object created animosity and stubbornness. Mr. Petrus proposed the idea of having a national comprehensive convention and agree on one united message and political platform.

CASCA also met with the Chaldean Educational Association Board in Ankawa.
The Board encouraged the people in the United States to invest in the KRG area. The Board noted that there was hardship facing the ChaldoAssyrian IDPs due to their lack of knowledge of the Kurdish language. They were unable to find jobs, in particular if they were professionals or had to transfer as students. The Board expressed a need for our parties to unify and agrees that the Autonomous Region is the only viable solution to stop people from migrating out of their land.

Prior to CASCA members’ arrival in Iraq, it was clear that one of the objectives of the trip was to meet with political parties in an attempt to coordinate between them and bring them together. Prior to the trip, while in the United States, CASCA members had begun the process by meeting with various representatives of these parties.
At times it became necessary to meet several times to work out difficulties. CASCA diligently worked to bring the various parties to the table and come to an agreement to work together. In the end, an agreement was had between the Chaldean National Council, the Chaldean Educational Association, the Bet Nahrain Democratic Party, and the Chaldean Democratic Forum to form a political committee within the PC and join the two existing parties, the Bet Nahrain Patriotic Union and the Syriac Independent Movement.
The Chaldean Democratic Party (Mr. Abdel Ahad Afram) and The Assyrian Patriotic Party (Mr. Nimrod Beito) did not agree to be in the Committee.
The agreement was signed by these seven parties with the PC and the chairman of CASCA, Mr. Ismat Karmo, on Tuesday November 23, 2010 just prior to leaving to the airport.
The agreement contained the recommendation made by CASCA that all the parties in this political committee do their best to work with the initiation made by the ADM and bring all the other parties in a larger format that include everyone. Specifically CASCA requested that they should attend the meeting called by the ADM on the following Friday to accomplish this objective. There was a full agreement with this request and the subsequent meetings developed the coordination of the parties.

On November 16, 2010, CASCA met with His Grace, bishop Bashar Matte Warda at Mar Yousip Church in Ankawa. His Grace is an energetic and intellectual man who is committed to strengthening the existence of the community. His primary project now is to build a university in the Ankawa area that can accommodate thousands of students and create jobs for our people. “We do not want anything from others,” he said, “not from the Arabs and not from the Kurds. We will earn it ourselves.” The university must be affiliated with one in the US, noted the bishop, and called on CASCA to help. The bishop expressed interest in the program noted by Mr. Joseph Kassab as well as the links with the University of Chicago (via Mr. Robert DeKelaita). In part, the Bishop desires to build this university to help our people’s refugees become students and instructors.
The bishop noted that he has land and a budget to complete the required facility. He envisioned the university of have 10,000 students and to support the infrastructure of Ankawa and the existence of our people there. Unless plans and projects such as this were undertaken, the Bishop noted, the existence of the ChaldoAssyrians was endangered.

CASCA was cordially greeted by Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, the President of the Kurdistan Parliament, along with Mr. Khani Hejar, a Senior Advisor (who also acted as interpreter), Mr. Aso Karim Mohammed, the Chairman of Public Relations, as well as another assistant who took notes.
Dr. Kerkuki expressed a strong concern about the image of the KRG’s mistreatment of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrians. He noted that there was a need to cooperate to improve this image. He also noted that the US administration has failed to understand and support the KRG as is necessary since the US and the KRG share a similar political culture and have similar interests in the area. CASCA’s team expressed a desire for the parliament and other responsible authorities to take a stronger position regarding the Autonomous Region, as set forth in the constitution of the KRG.

On November 17, 2010, we visited the town of Shaqlawa, where we saw old churches. CASCA observed two disturbing matters on this trip:

1) a man whose wife had converted to Islam was visiting and praying at the ancient church of Mar Youhanan in Shaqlawa with his two children. They sat for hours praying. When we asked what their situation was, the facts were very disturbing to us: the man's wife had left him for a Muslim Kurdish man and had herself converted to Islam.

The wife was now filing a complaint to take away the children and to make sure the conversion - of the children who were Christian - to Islam was completed.

According to the law of the land when a mother or father converts to Islam, the children are obligated to also convert - even if the father, who had custody, objected and even if the children objected. When we asked what could be done, one priest suggested that the man flee Iraq.

2) On the road to Shaqlawa, there is a cave high up in the mountain. It has been known to our people as Rabban Boya. This is an ancient Shrine of our Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people. It is sad today that Muslim Kurds identify it as one of their own shrines, using an Islamic term for it, and visiting it to pray.

CASCA was disappointed to learn there is no cross, no sign, and no statue of Rabban Boya allowed by the local authorities. Not only is this historic site disrespected and vandalized, but its very identity is being undermined. CASCA takes strong interest in the preservation and respect for our historic sites and calls upon the KRG for stronger protection of such sites.

The above matters, as well as others, will be further discussed in future meetings.

On Thursday, November 18, 2010, we departed from Ankawa and met with His Grace Mar Ishaq, the head of the Dohuk state for the Assyrian Church of the East.

The Bishop stressed that we in CASCA must look for something more than mere projects. He emphasized that neither the Kurds nor the Arabs have treated us fairly and have not given us our fair share in Iraq. He felt that parliament members (all 5) are pointless in Iraq and cannot do anything other than earn a living. The Bishop’s frustrations with the system were echoed on
many occasions by common ChaldoAssyrians.

Mar Ishaq analogized the dying of our nation to a dying body and noted that our problem is one of leadership - not of the Churches - but of secular entities. He felt that the idea and resolution of the Autonomous Region was the only solution for us and that the KRG needed to move to implement this. He was very forceful in making this point and expressed his disappointment that our people – Chaldean Syriac Assyrians – have not gotten their fair share after the fall of the [Saddam Hussein] regime. He felt it is incumbent on the Kurdish authorities to view our plight as a part of their problem, taking into consideration that the KRG’s very existence depended on its neighbors.

Mar Ishaq felt that a strong KRG is in the interest of our people but that the KRG, and specifically President Masud Barzani, must make a stronger effort to push forward the issue of autonomy as set forth in the constitution of the KRG. “This autonomy file,” he noted, “must be moved from the bottom of the pile to the top of the pile.”

Also on November 18, 2010, we met with Mr. Abdulahad Afram of the Chaldean Union. After much discussion, it seemed that Mr. Afram was ready to join the ranks of other groups in putting forth a more united effort. In the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Afram expressed hope that our people could and would come together.

After our meeting with Mr. Abdulahad Afram, on the afternoon of November 18, 2010, we headed to the villages of Dere and Komane to meet with His Grace Mar Rabban, the Chaldean Catholic bishop of Dohuk. His Grace emphasized self-reliance and peace with our brothers, the Kurds and Arabs, and noted that we needed to work together for the betterment of all - citing examples from the education he espoused to his students. He noted that a secular constitution was in the interest of all.
His Grace is an intellectual who proudly lives in a village that he views as thriving. He did note, sadly, that the youth lacked an attachment to the land and had little desire to work – thinking instead of migrating out. His Grace believes that our people’s destiny is as one and must be in harmony with the rest of the people of Iraq.

On November 19, 2010, Mr. Ismat Karmo, Mr. Sabah Hermiz, and Mr. Joseph Kassab visited the villages of Ain Sifni, Tell Kepe, and Alqush.

In a meeting with Mr. Semo Alo Arab, of the Yezidi group, the following points were made:
• The oppression the Yezidi face from Islamic fundamentalist far exceeds
that of the Christians in Iraq;
• The Yezidis are not well organized and have no international support;
• Most Yezidi people believe they are Kurds ethnically and feel that people who claim they are Arabs do so out of fear.
• The Yezidi people support the Autonomous Region and wish to be with the ChaldoAssyrian in one province.
• Like the Christians, the Yezidi people are leaving the country in high numbers.
• Culturally it is easier for them to live with the ChaldoAssyrians than Islamic Arabic or even Kurdish culture.
• Yezidi villages have no opportunity for professionals to find jobs.

CASCA members, Mr. Ismat Karmo and Mr. Joseph Kassab, met with our people in the monastery of Mar Matti (or Sheikh Matti). The meeting took place between CASCA and Mar Timatheous A’shamani, Fr. Yousif Fehmi and six other priests. The following points were noted:

• The conviction is that there should be relocation of the Christians within Iraq to a safe region, and provide support for them to earn a living;
• The Bishop and priests believe there should be a quick solution and that our people are running out of time in Iraq;
• The oppression of the Christians in Iraq is well calculated and has its own political agenda;
• Among Iraq’s citizens, many Iraqi Arabs are happy about what is happening to the Christians, because they are anticipating acquiring their lands and belongings;
• The Clergy described the Shabbak minority as a “time bomb”; they have the full and direct support of Iran, and are working to change the area demographically, occupying much of our Christian land. Parliament Member Hunain Qaddu has announced that Bartella, in the Nineveh Plain, is a Capital for the Shabbak;
• The Clergy stated that Internationalizing our case is the right step to force the world community to find a solution for our people;
• The Bishop noted that the situation of the Christians in Mosul is extremely bad. He stated that people are losing hope and feels that our efforts are too late to make any impact;
• Finally, as a significant factor, the Archdiocese of Mosul for the Syriac Orthodox Church had 2,500 families before 2003. It has now diminished to a mere 300 families.

On November 19, 2010, Mr. Robert DeKelaita visited with Rev. Samaan and Rev Ninos of the Assyrian Church of the East in Ankawa. The priests are in charge of a new complex that is composed of the Church of Mar Youhanan, a school, a house for guests and priests, and a large hall for meetings. Also,the next door restaurant is owned by the Church and brings in income to support it.
Present at the meeting were members of the Youth committee and the Church committee, along with Rev. Samaan and Rev. Ninos. The group expressed much frustration and anger toward the United Sates in response to the latest crisis. There was also frustration with Baghdad, and the KRG.
Members of the committee noted that refugees now are coming into the Ankawa area and seeking help from the Church. The Committee expressed frustration that no one is able to help them. The Church has no funds and the KRG has not set up any programs. The US and Iraqi governments don’t seem to care. I was told that hundreds of families - from the Church of the East only - have now fled to Syria from Baghdad. It is a crisis in every sense of the word. “This attack on [Saydat Najat],” said one member of the committee "was the Hiroshima bomb against the Christians of Iraq."

The Church members noted that Prime Minister Barham Salih had visited the Church and noted that “my doors are open” but that there was no follow up.

We resolved to form a committee - along with the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syriac Catholic Church - to assist the government in the area - and even in Baghdad, to help the refugees. Something needs to be done now. Our people are fleeing with no plan. CASCA can help in this regard in coordination with the United States government and the KRG.

On November 19, 2010, Mr. Robert DeKelaita, accompanied by Dr. Ninos Polous as interpreter, visited with members of the Kakayeen religious group. Like the Yezidis, members of this religious group expressed concerns about mistreatment – past and current – of their people. CASCA’s future report will treat this issue in an extensive manner.

On November 20, 2010, CASCA met with the leadership of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) in Ankawa. The CASCA team expressed a concern about coordination with other political parties and praised the ADM for calling a meeting of all of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian parties earlier in Dohuk. Another meeting was to be set. The ADM leaders expressed interest in supporting, and promised to push for, a unification of the parties on the ground in the interest of our people.

On November 21, 2010, the CASCA team met with the staff of the United States Embassy. Present in the meeting were Mr. Alex Laskaris, the Team Leader, Ms. Diane E. Crow, Assistant Coordinator for the RRT, Kurdistan Region, and Mr. George Sibley, Director of the Office of Iraq Political Affairs. CASCA’s members were pleasantly treated to a lunch and discussion.

CASCA reiterated its position on the issue of the Autonomous Region. The US team noted that the mistreatment of Christians was a very serious problem but the US, or its staff, could not take a position on this question. CASCA noted that we had been working on a paper on the Autonomous Region issue and would forward the same to the team upon its completion. There was much back-and-forth on the issue of autonomy, which will be discussed further in the
near future.

The team informed CASCA that the United States Ambassador, Mr. James Jeffery, had recently visited with President Jalal Talabani, and had had a very long discussion on the situation of the Christians.4 The Team noted that they are willing to help with projects, but CASCA must identify these or link groups that are on the ground. The issue of security (in terms of who receives support from the United States) remains a strong concern. Note that President Jalal Talabani has publically supported the idea of a Christian governorate in Iraq. This was reported by the French News Agency. Further reports on this are developing.

On November 22, 2010, we met with His Excellency, Mr. Barham Salih, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, along with several staff members. Mr. Salih was welcoming and courteous, and mentioned that he had
been following CASCA’s trip on television. He also welcomed “my friend Guiliana,” and noted that their friendship went back a long time. Mr. Salih noted that he will reiterate President Masud Barzani’s welcome to Christians into the Kurdistan area, stating that this was the land of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people on equal terms.

The Prime Minister issued an invitation to open a program on Assyrian/Syriac studies at the University of Sulaymaniyah.

With regard to the Autonomous Region issue, the Prime Minister noted that it was the right of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people first and foremost, but expressed a concern that the community not “isolate” itself in struggling for this enterprise. He noted that his message was the same for the Kurds.

On November 23, 2010, our last day, CASCA’s remaining members (Mr. Ismat Karmo, Mr. Guiliana Younan, and Mr. Robert DeKelaita) visited with Mr. Sarkis Aghajan for the last time. Mr. Aghajan was the gracious host to the last, offering a magnificent lunch to the team as a farewell gesture. CASCA expressed its gratitude to Mr. Aghajan for all he had done and wished him well.

Mr. Joseph Kassab had departed early on the morning of November 23, 2010. Mr. Sabah Hermiz left during the afternoon of November 23, 2010. Both headed to Amman, Jordan.

On Monday Nov 23, 2010, Mr. Joseph Kassab arrived in Amman, Jordan. During the first day, he met with UNHCR and the Vatican Humanitarian Agency CARITAS. UNHCR has an “overload” of Iraqi refugees but are moving cases quickly. There are some UNHCR employees whose Islamic background makes them unsympathetic to Christian refugees and our refugees have a lot of fear when they are interviewed by them. Mr. Kassab has identified some of these cases and informed UNHCR.

There is little effort made by UNHCR to inform our people of the services available to them. Our refugee are living in very indecent conditions and their needs are on the increase with little support from any organization except some assistance from the Missionaries of Peace of the Middle East through its director Fr. Khalil Jaar who is a devoted Latin Priest from Bethlehem. Fr. Khalil has pledged to support all Iraqi Christians in Amman.

The Italian Humanitarian Agency AVSI is very much interested in helping our people and wants to do more in Northern Iraq for the recent IDPs. IOM Jordan and Iraq are encouraged to do more work for our IDPs. Planning is underway to support them in order not to leave Iraq. The U.S Embassy in Jordan is concerned about the increased number of IDPs in Northern Iraq and current situation of Minorities in Iraq. The Embassy is looking into programs to assist them in order for them not to leave Iraq. According to officials, Immigration and refugee processing programs in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon are going well.

The American Embassy and the organizations in Jordan need to know more of our findings and recommendations resulting from our current visit to Iraq.

CARITAS has presence in Iraq but not in the north (capacity issue). Mr. Kassab asked how CASCA can help them to be operational there. More communication is required on this issue. Community based NGOs are prepared and ready to serve IDPs. But coordination between them is much needed.

Though we planned to meet with President Masud Barzani, the head of the KRG, and Mr. Nechervan Barzani, head of the KDP, these meetings did not materialize.

Team’s Joint Observations

1. The impact of the Church massacre: The10/31/10 massacre in our Church in Baghdad - and the threats and attacks afterwards - have left our people
stunned and saddened, yet also brought them together as a people.
Though shaken, many have also formed a somewhat stronger resolve to
remain. In speaking to several people, they expressed more clearly now than before, that our historic and collective ownership of the land must not be relinquished.

One young man from Kirkuk stated “we must stay, and we must stay with a resolve that shows others we are not easy to push out. We are not cowards to be frightened at every turn.” I asked him if he thought of leaving and he said “No. Why would I do that? Who has promised me a better life outside? I would rather stay and if I am killed so be it.”

Another emphasized to me the need for our people to feel ownership and responsibility toward the land. He told me of the current crisis in Bartella. “Our people,” he said, “were once 100% of Bartella. Now we are 40%. The Shabbak have come in and built houses and feel they own the land. They were pushed out by the Sunnis and they feel we do not cling to the land
like they do and do not care for it – even though we were there for thousands of years.”

He was clearly angry. “Why is this? Why do we not have the love and the resolve to stay and to fight for what is ours? This land is sitting on treasures; oil, artifacts, agriculture. We have all this wealth and simply look the other way.”

Yet others are not so sure. A dentist was worried about his future. He felt unsure about his profession and his lack of connections to the KDP. He stated that if he does not join he would be demoted and eventually pushed out. “I have no support as a Christian,” he said, “and I do not see that either Arabs or Kurds care for us or will help us. And our parties are
too small and too divided and ineffective. Where is my hope?” He viewed migration, in light of the massacre, as the only realistic option.

In addition to the problems in Baghdad, the Christians of Kirkuk were also threatened. One member of the community, a resident of the city for more than 60 years, was very vocal in a recent meeting. “The Kurds have their parties and they fight for their goals; the Arabs are divided into Sunni and Shiite camps. Everyone has their power and their wealth, while we are left to the wolves as America watches and calls this idiocy and corruption democracy. Day by day our situation gets worse. Why do they not allow us all to leave without visas since they see we will be slaughtered like sheep?”

2. There is a collective introspection on the part of many of our people in Iraq. What we have seen is that this pain and suffering has brought out the issue of collective survival and rights, along with the concerns for personal safety. The terrorists have created martyrs that have now intensified the search for a solution to our plight.

3. Most members of the community agree that some form of an autonomous region is preferable, even if they themselves have chosen to leave. Our parties must better coordinate. Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Popular Council needs to work closely with all of our organization and parties on the ground there, as does the ADM.

4. Those who have found refuge in the northern areas must be supported, in visiting our villages in the areas of Nineveh; Dohuk, and Erbil, IDP families indicated the hardship our people are living in with little support. Local bishops want to do something to assist these people but they need more coordination among themselves. All agreed that our internally migrant people should stay and not to leave the country. The majority of the recent IDPs have expressed that if help is not on the way soon, they will be obligated to leave the country, as security is not enough. They want jobs, housing, education, and healthcare. CASCA expresses concern and many among our people are migrating aimlessly without direction or planning. They are heading to relatively secured areas in Nineveh plain and Kurdistan including our monasteries, but may head out of Iraq soon, if
something is not done.

5. CASCA has observed that all of our political parties are coming closer to agreement and to working together as CASCA continues to broker the bridge among them and assist them.

6. There is a lack of understanding among our common people about the issue of autonomy and there are forces at work distorting the image of this plan – in addition to the lack of jurisprudence in Iraq on this issue. The same is true of non-ChaldoAssyrians, who have little understanding of the issue. CASCA’s position is that a much better effort is needed in educating our people and others.

 

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¹ Throughout this report, the terms Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, and ChaldoAssyrian are used interchangeably. CASCA abhors the use of such terms to divide people choosing to use one or another of these terms and has called upon governments to respect the people’s will and desire to sort out the issue of the proper name or names.