Iraqi Christians: Better off than other Iraqi refugees?

Arab Christians in the US and elsewhere help facilitate the resettlement of Iraqi Christians fleeing violence in Iraq. Is the Western media overplaying the challenges facing Christians in Iraq?

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Christians face the same challenges as other refugees while awaiting asylum, but many people who work with refugees say that they often have an easier time navigating the resettlement process.

“In some instances you could even say [Iraqi Christians] have actually had greater access to resources, international connections, and solutions, and, in some instances, you could also say they’ve been favored by the system,” says Elizabeth Campbell, a senior advocate at Refugees International, an advocacy group for displaced people.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not make its records public on the religious or ethnic demographics of those resettled, but Imran Riza, the UNHCR representative in Amman, says the disproportionately large number of Christian refugees is reflected in resettlement patterns.

Ms. Campbell says that the initial wave of Iraqis resettled in the US, contained a disproportionately large number of Christians, even compared to their already oversized presence among Iraqi refugees. This was not the result of UNHCR policies that favored Christians, she says, but rather the work of Christian and other religious groups who helped fellow Christians understand the importance of registering with the UNHCR for resettlement. Consequently, a large number of Christians ended up at the front of the line for resettlement.

Meanwhile a number of other Iraqis failed to register with UNHCR because they didn’t feel the organization provided enough aid or they feared possibly being deported because they’d illegally entered Jordan or overstayed their visa.

Helping hand from Arab Christians in the US

For decades, a sizable Iraqi and Arab Christian diaspora has been building outside the Middle East. While Christians are a minority in most Arab countries, within Arab communities abroad they often constitute the majority. In the US, for example, 63 percent of Arab Americans identify as Christian, while only 24 percent say they are Muslim.

“Inside Iraq the levels of a wider community of support are non-existent for them, whereas outside of Iraq there are Christian groups that will be in much greater solidarity with them,” says Bill Frelick, director of the refugee policy program at Human Rights Watch.

Although the UNHCR works to make the resettlement process as egalitarian and need-based as possible, Mr. Frelick says that those who are able to get help navigating the system, even if it’s something as simple as learning how to access the UNHCR website, stand a much better chance at resettlement.

While the UNHCR does not make its recommendations for resettlement based on people’s religious or ethnic backgrounds, it does consider how their background could contribute to their level of vulnerability.

“Christians have been targets and threatened in Iraq … but in a way all minority groups are targeted,” says Riza.

Still, as more Christians find ways to leave Iraq, many in the Middle East’s Christian community are asking if it might be better for them to stay and preserve traditions in the region.

“The local church in Jordan does not encourage Iraqi people, Christians and Muslims, but particularly Christians to leave their country, because we need their presence there. They are one of the most ancient ethnic and religious groups there is,” says Father Hanna Kailbali, a Jordanian Roman Catholic priest who has worked with Iraqi Christian refugees.