Young Iraqi Christians who fled the Islamic State onslaught in Mosul will be invited to Gozo in a project piloted by Bishop Mario Grech.
The initiative developed from a proposal Mgr Grech made last year for every Gozitan parish to adopt a family of persecuted Christians fleeing tyranny in Syria and Iraq.
The proposal had received support from Gozitan parish priests and was endorsed by Archbishop Charles Scicluna. However, since meeting with Iraqi priest Fr Douglas Bazi – who visited Gozo to celebrate l-Imnarja last month – the Gozo Bishop’s plans have taken on a slightly different shape.
“I spoke to Fr Bazi, who highlighted the plight of the Christian refugees, especially youngsters and teens and the need to give them hope for the future,” Mgr Grech told Times of Malta.
We’re thinking of bringing over more than one group
The diocese is now reviewing the proposals and working on bringing over groups of youths for 12 weeks to give them a taste of what normal life looks like.
Instead of hosting families, the parishes will be offering the groups lodging and cover their air fares. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has pledged to cooperate with issues such as issuing visas.
The Nadur parish is also working on the project. Ideally, the youths would stay with families, although parish centres would also be made available, Mgr Grech said.
“It’s all still at an embryonic stage but we’re working on it. We’re thinking of bringing over more than one group. The visit would be a cultural one where we would also help them to become stronger in will and guide them into building their own society.” The refugees are living in the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil, the capital city of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, and are cared for by Fr Bazi.
In an interview with this newspaper, Fr Bazi had explained that over 120,000 Christians were forced to flee northern Iraq’s city of Mosul last summer after Islamist insurgents issued an ultimatum to remaining Christians: convert to Islam, pay the jizya tax (a per capita tax on non-Muslims revived by IS) or face death.
The IS (also known as Isis) forced the Christians to leave with just the clothes on their back and multiple checkpoints ensured they were stripped of their money, passports and even their wedding rings.
Fr Bazi looks after about 564 families living in a refugee centre in the courtyard of Mar Elia church in Erbil.