Reconstruction of the Chaldean Villages: Telesqif, Baqofah, Batnaya, Telkaif, Karmalaish
Yousif
Patriarchate Media
The goal is to enable all the displaced people to return to their homes.
Since June 2014, ISIS has expelled the Christians of Mosul and Nineveh Plain, where they lived for thousands of years.
Today, we thank the Iraqi Army and the Peshmarga forces for liberating the area. However, many of these homes, Churches, and service institutions were destroyed, burned and looted, in addition to the damaged infrastructure.
We have to help the displaced Christian people, as much as possible, by rebuilding and furnishing their homes and restoring the infrastructure of their villages.
His Beatitude The Chaldean Patriarch, Louis Raphael Sako and the Chaldean bishops in Iraq met in Ankawa/Erbil on Monday 23 January 2017 and decided to start the process of reconstruction relying on donors and fundraising.
Two teams will be working together in this project: the Chaldean League and the parishioner’s committees. The first Committee for Telkaif – Alqosh villages, to be chaired by Fr. Salar Boudagh, while the second committee for Karamlaish village will be chaired by Fr. Thabit Macco in coordination with Dr. Amanj Francis from Chaldean League.
To speed up the process of reconstruction and to facilitate the return of the displaced people to their homes, the following donations were collected so far:
The Chaldean Patriarchate: 300 millions ID
The Archdiocese of Erbil: 100 million ID
The Archdiocese of Mosul: 50 million ID
The Archdiocese of Kirkuk: 25 million ID
The Archdiocese of Basrah: 20 million ID
To face this gigantic challenge and to preserve our historical areas, we call upon our homeland and overseas parishes to support the restoration of their brethren’s houses and to facilitate their return.
We also call upon the international community, especially the United States, the European Union and the Government of Iraq to help reconstruct and develop the area. Additionally, NIneveh plain needs investments to stimulate the local economy and to create jobs for the local residents. This will open a window of hope in their hearts to stay in their homeland as well as preserving their identity and history.
A survey conducted for 1667 displaced families from three villages showed that 1300 families want to rapidly return back to their villages and commence their normal life. This in turn, will encourage others to return. The survey also shows that the percentage of destruction is between 5 and 80%.
In order for the process to be more organized, the two Committees are registering and documenting damaged homes for those who wish to return and they will start working as soon as possible.
Finally, to facilitate the return of residents of these villages, there is an urgent need to demine their fields and also to implement charitable and humanitarian projects providing health services, electricity sources (e.g. generators), etc.