Iraqi Christians fear Christmas attacks

Christmas is a time of religious worship, a time when family and friends come together to exchange gifts and share seasonal dishes, accompanied by messages of peace and goodwill.

This is not the case for Christians in Iraq.

The community feels under threat because of the unprecedented levels of violence against them.

So much so that Iraqi Council of Bishops has decided to limit this years festivities.

Evan Kork, is a Christian living in Baghdad:

“ The celebrations are low-key this year because people are afraid, they feel under threat after the attack on the cathedral in Baghdad.”

On October 31, a number of gunmen entered Our Lady of the Salvation in Baghdad during evening mass and took the congregation hostage.

As security forces arrived an hours-long stand-off began, before the assailants detonated their suicide vests killing close to 70 people and spreading real fear in an already intimidated community.

Father Amir Jaje is from the Church of Our Lady of the Salvation:

“These are our martyrs, the young, a four-month old baby was crying for her mother, she wouldn’t calm down so she got a bullet.”

It was by far the worst attack against the minority Christian population in recent times, but not the only one.

Christians in the country feel under so much pressure that they are fleeing in droves, an estimated 400,000 have left the country since 2003 for a new life in Europe and the US.

It is calculated that 3 per cent of the population of Iraq are Christian, that is down from 7 per cent in 1989.

Since the attack the slow steady exodus has become a flood.

The Narzena family lost a son and grandson in the church killings, for them the choice is clear, they are leaving for France.

Shaad Narzena:

“From the moment they entered the cathedral we knew that all they wanted to do was eliminate us.”

Religious diversity in Iraq is as old as the country itself and not all Christians are prepared to leave.

Father Al Bazi runs the school of the Virgin Mary, where Muslim and Christian children are educated alongside one another.

He is no stranger to intimidation having been kidnapped, shot and told to leave. He refuses and believes his school is living proof that religions can co-exist.

Copyright © 2012 euronews