by Bar Daisan and Sarah Abed

Professor Männle said that the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East is the largest we face since World War II and Christians are particularly targeted; they are on the verge of losing not only their homeland but also their identity. She pointed to statistics of people impacted in both Syria and Iraq. “We must not make ourselves complicit in the ongoing Christocide by abstaining; we cannot and will not allow Eastern Christianity to be extinguished. To cope with the crisis in the Middle East and thus improve the situation for the Christians in the Middle East, it needs the influence of all European countries in close relationship with the USA.”

The session was moderated by H.E. Dr. Heinrich Kreft, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Prof. Heiner Bielefeldt noted that human rights are nowhere violated as dramatically as in Syria and Iraq, and asked for the public “outcry instead of a private anxiety.” Dr. Franz-Josef Jung saw a duty of the West in the fact as its Christian cultural imprint demands more European commitment in the region. Archbishop of Mosul, Nicodemus Sharaf, described the catastrophic situation on the ground and placed a particular focus on the hopeless situation of the refugees in northern Iraq while blaming the West for failing to create a “safe zone” for the Assyrians in the Nineveh Plains. Archimandrite Youkhana pleaded to give hope to Christians in the Middle East so that they could stay in their homeland. “Christian presence is needed in the Middle East,”, he said. Everywhere walls are built, while the Christians built bridges between the various groups. They were often helpless, but never hopeless. With the event. “the Hanns-Seidel Foundation has once again given voice to the persecuted Christians in the Middle East in the circle of world leaders.”

In his speech, Patriarch Aphrem II issued an urgent call for support of the Christians in Syria and Iraq. He stressed that they need to stay in their homeland to secure Christian identity and presence in a country where Christianity emerged while they need support and require protection from an ongoing genocide, which aims to erase the Christian presence in the Middle East.

The Patriarch described the current situation and living conditions of the Christians in Iraq and Syria. The hopeless situation, as he said, is a reason for many Christians to migrate. Hence, the Christians presence is dwindling.

Below are excerpts from the Patriarch’s remarks (transcribed by Sarah Abed).

Shlomo, this means peace in Aramaic and that is how we greet each other and that is what we are missing in our life these days. Thank you for the Hanns-Seidel Stifung for the opportunity to raise our voice; we have been ignored for some time as Christians in the Middle East and we welcome every opportunity to be heard. We are here because there is always peace to be sought and to be achieved. The Syrian conflict should be settled in a peaceful manner. Violence only brings on more violence, as Pope Francis said.