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IRAQI CHALDEANS IN LEBANON LINING UP TO LEAVE
Al-Akhbar English
November 1, 2012 Thursday
Lebanon
Caught between asylum and return, an estimated 10,000 Iraqi Chaldean
Christians try to make a temporary home in Lebanon, but not without
difficulties. Three years after fleeing Baghdad, Tamer Elias was
barely making ends meet with his wife and three children in a small
room in the "Iraqi quarter" of Sad al-Baouchriye, a Christian village
outside Beirut. Elias is just one of an estimated 10,000 Iraqi Chaldean
Christians living in Lebanon. Most of them, like Elias, are awaiting
resettlement in a Western country. Two weeks ago, a letter arrived
from the US Embassy via the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), and Elias thought the wait was finally over. The
long-awaited letter changed everything, but not in the way Elias
thought: It split his family in half.
"The US destroyed our hopes for having a life together by opting to
give a green card to my son, but not to me, my wife, or my daughter,"
said Elias. In Bishop Qsargi's view, the Iraqi Chaldeans would have
been better off if they were "permanently resettled in Lebanon,
as happened with the Armenians."After his son departed for the US,
American officials eventually allowed Elias' wife to emigrate as well,
but without her other children. Now, the rest of her family in Lebanon
depends on the money she is able to send from the US.
Elias' story is not unique among the Iraqi Chaldean community. The
letters informing families of the status of their asylum applications
are perfunctory and brief. Sometimes entire families are granted
green cards while others are rejected outright. In many cases, one
or two members of a family will be approved while the others were
rejected without explanation. In the meantime, the Iraqi quarter of
Sad al-Baouchriye has no shortage of refugees. No sooner does a room
become vacant than new tenants move in, according to Diana Kina, an
Iraqi woman who is preparing to take her family to Canada. The Iraqi
community has done its best to rebuild in their adopted home since
returning to Iraq is not an option for most. Those caught between
asylum and return are "biding their time," according to the head of
the Chaldean community in Lebanon, Bishop Michel Qsargi. The bishop
said that more than 2,000 Iraqi families from his community currently
reside in Lebanese Christian areas such as Zahle, Sad al-Baouchriye,
Jdeideh, and Rawda. "Around 10,000 people are waiting to be relocated
to other countries, to escape the provisional life they lead in
Lebanon," he said. Paperwork, visas, and other logistics of exile are
of daily concern to the Iraqis, who require a sponsor and residence
permit to remain in Lebanon, but lack job options. Dana Suleiman,
a spokesperson for the UNHCR, said refugees face many legal hurdles
that prevent them from receiving legal status as a refugee and finding
employment, not to mention the racism and persecution many encounter.
She went on to say that her organization usually seeks to relocate
Iraqi refugees to the US, Scandinavian countries, Canada, and
Australia, but that each government maintains its own requirements
and quotas. In Bishop Qsargi's view, the Iraqi Chaldeans would have
been better off if they were "permanently resettled in Lebanon,
as happened with the Armenians." But refugee resettlement is a
politically toxic issue in Lebanon, where political and religious
leaders fear any change to the current sectarian balance. According
to Qsargi, not even Pope John Paul II was able to convince Lebanon
to absorb the Iraqi Chaldeans. In 2003, when many Iraqis were being
forcibly displaced by the US invasion, a decision was made to acquire
a 300,000 square meter property in Ablah in the Bekaa Valley for the
resettlement of Iraqi Chaldeans. The idea was met with opposition,
said Bishop Qsargi, especially from Lebanese Christian authorities
who feared a rival Christian political power. If the Church refused
resettlement, as is being said, then this is out of its desire to
encourage people to return to their countries, and not for demographic
considerations"[The Pope's petitions] fell on deaf ears even in the
government, and was not taken seriously by the church, particularly
the Maronite church," he said. Father Camille Moubarak, Rector of
Sagesse University in Beirut, said, "The issue of resettlement was
discussed in the context of a naturalization law," and therefore was,
"not in the hands of the church." "If the Church refused resettlement,
as is being said, then this is out of its desire to encourage people
to return to their countries, and not for demographic considerations,"
he said. "Indeed, Christians from any denomination are a godsend, and
the number [of Chaldeans] is the equivalent to no more than one percent
of the Maronite population." Moubarak pointed to the role the Maronite
church played in helping refugees as evidence of its good faith. "We
collected donations in churches and gave them to His Eminence Bishop
Qsargi," but lamented that there are no comprehensive plans in place
to aid them. Bishop Qsargi corroborated this, and added that he was
concerned about the expected influx of thousands more Chaldeans from
Syria. The real number of refugees will never be known though, since
many fail to register with the UNHCR and the church.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Al-Akhbar English
November 1, 2012 Thursday
Lebanon
Caught between asylum and return, an estimated 10,000 Iraqi Chaldean
Christians try to make a temporary home in Lebanon, but not without
difficulties. Three years after fleeing Baghdad, Tamer Elias was
barely making ends meet with his wife and three children in a small
room in the "Iraqi quarter" of Sad al-Baouchriye, a Christian village
outside Beirut. Elias is just one of an estimated 10,000 Iraqi Chaldean
Christians living in Lebanon. Most of them, like Elias, are awaiting
resettlement in a Western country. Two weeks ago, a letter arrived
from the US Embassy via the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), and Elias thought the wait was finally over. The
long-awaited letter changed everything, but not in the way Elias
thought: It split his family in half.
"The US destroyed our hopes for having a life together by opting to
give a green card to my son, but not to me, my wife, or my daughter,"
said Elias. In Bishop Qsargi's view, the Iraqi Chaldeans would have
been better off if they were "permanently resettled in Lebanon,
as happened with the Armenians."After his son departed for the US,
American officials eventually allowed Elias' wife to emigrate as well,
but without her other children. Now, the rest of her family in Lebanon
depends on the money she is able to send from the US.
Elias' story is not unique among the Iraqi Chaldean community. The
letters informing families of the status of their asylum applications
are perfunctory and brief. Sometimes entire families are granted
green cards while others are rejected outright. In many cases, one
or two members of a family will be approved while the others were
rejected without explanation. In the meantime, the Iraqi quarter of
Sad al-Baouchriye has no shortage of refugees. No sooner does a room
become vacant than new tenants move in, according to Diana Kina, an
Iraqi woman who is preparing to take her family to Canada. The Iraqi
community has done its best to rebuild in their adopted home since
returning to Iraq is not an option for most. Those caught between
asylum and return are "biding their time," according to the head of
the Chaldean community in Lebanon, Bishop Michel Qsargi. The bishop
said that more than 2,000 Iraqi families from his community currently
reside in Lebanese Christian areas such as Zahle, Sad al-Baouchriye,
Jdeideh, and Rawda. "Around 10,000 people are waiting to be relocated
to other countries, to escape the provisional life they lead in
Lebanon," he said. Paperwork, visas, and other logistics of exile are
of daily concern to the Iraqis, who require a sponsor and residence
permit to remain in Lebanon, but lack job options. Dana Suleiman,
a spokesperson for the UNHCR, said refugees face many legal hurdles
that prevent them from receiving legal status as a refugee and finding
employment, not to mention the racism and persecution many encounter.
She went on to say that her organization usually seeks to relocate
Iraqi refugees to the US, Scandinavian countries, Canada, and
Australia, but that each government maintains its own requirements
and quotas. In Bishop Qsargi's view, the Iraqi Chaldeans would have
been better off if they were "permanently resettled in Lebanon,
as happened with the Armenians." But refugee resettlement is a
politically toxic issue in Lebanon, where political and religious
leaders fear any change to the current sectarian balance. According
to Qsargi, not even Pope John Paul II was able to convince Lebanon
to absorb the Iraqi Chaldeans. In 2003, when many Iraqis were being
forcibly displaced by the US invasion, a decision was made to acquire
a 300,000 square meter property in Ablah in the Bekaa Valley for the
resettlement of Iraqi Chaldeans. The idea was met with opposition,
said Bishop Qsargi, especially from Lebanese Christian authorities
who feared a rival Christian political power. If the Church refused
resettlement, as is being said, then this is out of its desire to
encourage people to return to their countries, and not for demographic
considerations"[The Pope's petitions] fell on deaf ears even in the
government, and was not taken seriously by the church, particularly
the Maronite church," he said. Father Camille Moubarak, Rector of
Sagesse University in Beirut, said, "The issue of resettlement was
discussed in the context of a naturalization law," and therefore was,
"not in the hands of the church." "If the Church refused resettlement,
as is being said, then this is out of its desire to encourage people
to return to their countries, and not for demographic considerations,"
he said. "Indeed, Christians from any denomination are a godsend, and
the number [of Chaldeans] is the equivalent to no more than one percent
of the Maronite population." Moubarak pointed to the role the Maronite
church played in helping refugees as evidence of its good faith. "We
collected donations in churches and gave them to His Eminence Bishop
Qsargi," but lamented that there are no comprehensive plans in place
to aid them. Bishop Qsargi corroborated this, and added that he was
concerned about the expected influx of thousands more Chaldeans from
Syria. The real number of refugees will never be known though, since
many fail to register with the UNHCR and the church.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress