Photo: CNS
This is a guest post by Chris Ng, a Brisbane Catholic and humanitarian.
I WAS recently in Erbil, Kurdistan, helping out as a volunteer in one of the 26 refugees camps cared for by the Catholic Church.
I was assigned by Archbishop Basha Warda, a kind and softly spoken man.
I do what I can to help, and I fell into the role as the camp medic.
Although I’m not a doctor or nurse by profession, I was chosen for that work because of my experience as a first-aider and because I am trained in wound management and as a mental first-aider.
Another reason was my eight years’ experience working alongside doctors in Burma, East Timor, India and Africa in various medical assisting roles.
In Iraq I had the privilege to work alongside of Fr Daniel and Fr Douglas. Fr Douglas Bazi is an incredible man of God. He was shot, abducted and tortured for nine days by Muslim militia in 2006.
Through the grace of God he found freedom.
Through all his suffering, he retained his great sense of humour, always greeting you with a gentle smile.
His refugees are like “his relatives” to him.
There is no shortage of silent suffering in the camps. Many have escaped from the horror of ISIS’ (Islamic State’s) genocide of Christians with only what little they can carry or just the shirts on their backs – some with no belongings and no money.
Most of them live in the Catholic church grounds or premises owned by the Church.
Fr Daniel and Fr Douglas have organised activities for the children – learning, music, games, plays and many other activities to keep the children occupied.
I often think of the coming deadly winter and the cold closing in, and how it will be sweeping through the camps.
Living in plastic tents is the only option for the moment. And if not the cold, it is the rain which turns everything around them into mud and the tents leak.
There’s so much work for the priests; you can clearly see the exhaustion on their faces, but their spirits are high.
Just imagine, literally overnight you have hundreds of refugees at your doorstep without any warning and you have to provide shelter, food, clothing etc.
It was just a logistical nightmare for the priests who already have suffered so much themselves just for being a Christian priest.
Priests have always been a prime target for ISIS, and it takes a lot of faith to be a priest in this part of the world.
Christians in Iraq are being crucified for their belief and dying for their faith.
Both Sunni and Shiites, though busy fighting each other, will find time to attack Christians and expel them from suburbs in Iraq.
Many tears have been shed at my centre, it would break anyone’s heart to hear the cruelty inflicted on them.
In my role as the camp medic, I saw more than 50 people a day, suffering from feet and hand problems, depression, emotional to health issues.
Many of those who have been on medication in their hometown are now without it.
They have either fled without medication or they have run out of it. Most of them suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure.
With extremely high blood pressure, and without medication, the possibility of a stroke is very real. However, through God’s grace we manage to avoid this.
A man who has lost all his toes after he ran out of his medication for diabetes came to see me on the day before the surgery and told me that he is happy having all his toes removed on one feet because he knew he would be cared for and will have a good rest in the hospital.
I prayed over the people I cared for and I know and can feel that through the prayers of our Catholic Charismatic Renewal prayer group back home at Bardon and my Church colleagues, God has been working through my hands in providing care for these people.
Many of the refugees, especially the older adults, are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder which has created many stress-related illnesses such as high blood pressure, hives, anxiety and panic attacks, sores, headache, insomnia, hair loss and so many more.
Many children in the camps are also suffering from their ordeals. Some are very young but can sense and/or feel a change in environment, and have difficulty in expressing themselves.
Night cries and bed-wetting are common.
Some children ask their parents when they can go home.
Many Iraqi refugees arriving in the camps are suffering from trauma, injury and illness.
Most of the internally displaced people in the camp I worked in are from Qaraqosh.
It is not only Christians who are cared for by the Catholic Church but also non-Christian groups like the Yazidis who are considered as devil worshipers by ISIS. ISIS have shown no mercy towards the Yazidis.
The Iraqi Christian community are good people. Our Christian brothers and sisters need our help now. They are living in a land that is hostile to Christians.
Even children are systemically beheaded and families are forced to watch.
What we watch on television does not even come close to describing the suffering of these people there.
They have nowhere to go; they can’t live in Iraq because no one can guarantee their safety anymore.
Wives and daughters have been taken by ISIS as wives or slaves. Either you flee, convert or die – face death by the sword.
Those who are unable to make the journey are either too weak or too sick to travel.
Before the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were about 1.3 million Christians in Iraq. Now, there are less than 250,000 Christians.
Many Christians have been killed, and others have migrated.
Priests and bishops are especially targeted.
Many churches have been bombed over and over again.
Christians have lived in Iraq for 2000 years, and for hundreds of years the Christians have suffered religious persecution.
Aramaic is still spoken amongst ethnic Assyrians and Chaldean Catholics in Iraq.
All they want is what we have taken for granted, a home and the right and freedom to practise their Christian faith in peace.
We have a lot of land in Australia to accommodate these people – Christian and other minority groups. Some towns in the outback are crying out for population growth.
All these people want is a place to call home where they feel safe and where they can practise their faith freely and find peace.
They can contribute to our country in various ways from small business to farming our land.
They don’t care where they go in Australia as long as they find peace.
There are not enough prayers in this world.
Because of our silence we allow evil to thrive. At the end of the day we have to answer to our Lord for our decisions.
