Chaldeans Meet KRG President Barzani

Chaldeans Americans Ask KRG to Devote Attention and Priority to Displaced Iraqi Christians; Plan Trade Mission to Kurdistan

Washington, DC – The plight of Chaldean Assyrian Syriac families in Iraq was the topic of a meeting with Mr. M. Barzani, President of the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq (KRG), and representatives of the Chaldean Federation of America (CFA) www.chaldeanfederation.org, the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce (CACC) www.chaldeanchamber.com, and the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America (CASCA) www.cascausa.org on January 28.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraq’s Chaldean Assyrian Syriac people have fled from their homes to their ancestral villages in the region seeking better protection and security. Suggestions to President Barzani included the recognition of these Christians’ rights and interest in the area and to set up safe and economically thriving conditions for them to eventually return to leading a self-ruled, self-sufficient, autonomous area.
President Barzani indicated his government support and encouragement for the return of Christians to their ancestral land and agreed to support a proposed trade mission in April.
Before the 2003 War in Iraq, there were 1.2 million Chaldeans Assyrians Syriacs living in Iraq. Today, that population has dramatically dwindled to less than half. Christians has been targeted by extremists in a systematic and vicious persecution pattern. As a result, some fled Iraq seeking resettlement with no intention to return, while others moved to their ancestral villages in the north seeking peace and protection with very little hope of survival. Therefore, the Chaldean American community is obligated to find durable and permanent solutions for their people to live in peace and prosperity in their homeland — just like any other indigenous community throughout the world.