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Appeal to help Armenians in Iraq

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  • Appeal to help Armenians in Iraq

    Wales-Armenia Solidarity Appeal to Help the Armenians of Iraq

    Dear Friend

    Today we launch a world-wide appeal to give financial and other help to the Armenians of Mosul and Baghdad who have had to flee for their lives (this last week following the killing of 15 Christians in Mosul and previously) . This follows my visit to the Armenian community of Havrest and Zeikho on Friday of last week and the Chaldean Church in Dohuk on Saturday.

    On Thursday, I had visited the Municipality of Ankawa, an entirely Christian town just outside Erebil. It was there that the Head of the Municipality informed me of what had happened to Christians in Mosul the previous week. I met the KRG Foreign Minister and thanked him for the assistance given to fleeing Christians of the Arab-controlled Mosul city, and asked him to ensure their protection .

    On Friday, in Zako, Father Miran Yousif Murad showed me around the Armenian Church, built in 1923 by Genocide Survivors and introduced me to several who had previously fled to Zakho from Mosul. He agreed to accept any money collected in Europe and America to help the local refugees from Mosul and from Baghdad.

    He took me to a village called Havrest, built for the Armenians by the Kurdish Regional Government. With me was Jwan Taher Ahmed a journalist who represents the Dohuk Governate. About 60 local people came to meet us and we sat outside the school. When I asked what are the main problems, their spokesman replied that they are helping the refugees arriving this week by sharing them around people's homes. The refugees receive nothing, only the help of themselves for several weeks or months. Later they are given about 40 dollars per month by the Kurdish government, as well as enough diesel to run generators to provide electricity for 3 hours per day

    Financial help for the new refugees would be most welcome, as well as help for two other problems. There are presently 9 children who need to travel to the High School in Dohuk. They would like 12,000 dollars to buy a van to carry them to school. I was impressed by their willingness to help others even though their own situation was not flourishing. Surely throughout the world we can raise
    12, 000 dollars for the vehicle, and some more to help the newly arrived refugees? When I asked them do you receive help from Europe or America they said that they had no contacts there.

    I was afterwards taken to the home of a family who showed us her two-year old daughter (more details, names etc will follow about them) She has two holes in her heart and when they lived in Baghdad, a German doctor was going to take her to Germany with a humanitarian organisation to have the required heart operation. Unfortunately the doctor fled Baghdad because of the terrorism and then they also fled, loosing the chance of this operation.

    Can anyone please help by persuading the US, UK , French or Armenian government to provide a 6 month visa for the mother and daughter? Does anyone know of Humanitarian organisations who could help them? Can you put us in touch with every Armenian heart specialist that you know of? Father Miran will provide more details very soon.

    On Saturday in Dohuk,I was taken by translator Kamal Hussain Mawlood to met the members of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Assembly, including Jameel Zaito, the chairman.They include all but one of the Christian political parties, and they confirmed the truth of the news of killings and flight of Christians from Mosul. I met a brave lady, Ms Basima Issa Salman, a Christian Member on the Niniveh Council, who had been threatened with assassination 13 times. She gave me copies of the letters which had been posted into the houses of Christians, ordering them to leave, and threatening to kill them in the name of Islam.

    In the Dohuk Chaldean Catholic Church, over 60 people were given shelter. They came into a church room to recount their experiences.

    Professor Samir Rahim began.. "The 6th of October passed quietly but on the 7th what hit us was like a volcano or a flood. Terrorists asked the people for their IDs and if they were found to be Christian they were killed. Assassinations had began on the streets. Two were ordinary building workers. A group of terrorists came and killed them . One of the victims was named Amjad. Assassinations were sporadic to start with and grew more intense . By Thursday the 9th, 14 had been killed. They attacked three families, kicked them out of their homes, stole their belongings and blasted their houses. In one house they came through the roof and slaughtered the whole family.People were now living in panic and terror. The terrorists said "We do not want Christians living amongst us. If you stay here we are going to kill you" The municipality for 10 days was as if it did not exist. On the 8th we fled for our lives to Kurdistan. The events happened in front of the local police with the assistance of the by police. The army did not interfere with the situation for 10 days. A total of over 2,000 families have fled. "

    Ablahad Khoshaba Zaiya, a floor tile layer showed me where they were sleeping in the Church and said "I know nothing about my future . All I know is that now I live in the house of God We have no future at all here. I just want a safe place to raise my children". .There were 7 in his family .Gorgis Shamon Esho , Haitha Petros and Faleel Eskandar Istefo agreed with him.

    An Armenian woman Mariam Sepan Sarkismeherian said that her family was originally from Dehe in Armenia, and had fled to Mosul after the 1915 genocide.Only her father survived from his whole family. They all said that they were too afraid to go back to Mosul. Even if things improve, the terrorists will always come back, because they want the "Christian infidels" to leave. Many of the people said that they would be willing to go to Europe if they were accepted.

    Cheques should be made out to Wales Armenia Solidarity. I will send all the money to father Miran. He will provide details of what vehicle is bought and will also give details of a spokesman for the village of Havrest.


    Any wishing to help, please PM me for details

  • #2
    Appeal for the Armenians of Iraq (further info)
    The village representative of Havrest (Hay Vrej) which I visited two weeks ago has written to me to tell the story of the village. We'll ask the Kurdish Government/President to help them with the Mains electricity. I hope that Armenians world-wide can help with other things. Unfortunately there has been very little response to our appeal so far.
    Eilian Williams

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: HAY VREG GROUP
    To: eilian@***********.co.uk
    Sent: Friday, October 31, 2008 12:05 PM
    Subject: hay vrej

    Dear Sir…

    Good day...

    We would like to give some details about us:

    First of all we are Iraqi Armenian peoples. We are living in a village which was constructed . after the Turkish Genocide of Armenians in 1915. We passed Iran to arrive here and we stayed at Baquba in the beginning for 6 months. After that our Armenian leader ( Mr. Shaghoyan - Levon Pasha ) went to Faysal 1st the King of Iraq at that time and asked him to give us an region to live and cause our grandfathers were farmers so they asked for suitable place to live and cultivate, and they wanted it to be near Turkey because they was hoping to go back to Armenia when the situation would be o.k.

    Mr. Shaghoyan - Levon Pasha brought 580 Armenian families to this village (Hay Vrej), the life was so difficult at that time and they suffered till they built their houses which were made of mud (they were already tired from the Turkish Genocide against Armenians) so they started their lives by farming, Mr. Shaghoyan built a mill to be used for the villagers for grinding wheat and barley.

    Emigration to Armenia in 1947

    They lived with many difficulties till 1947 when many families emigrated to Armenia ( near our village there were other Armenian villages). Their people went to Baghdad then Basrah and they took their way to Lebanon by passing the river finally they took the way to Russia to get to Armenia by Ship, Some of them died during that. When they got to the Russian borders to enter to Armenia the Russian Army took their money and what they had, left them hungry without any thing. They gave one bread to four person, some of them stayed in Russia and the others took their way to Armenia.

    Our villagers heard what had happened to them. They were afraid to pass through all that so they stayed here and forgot the emigration to home, some of them went to other Iraqi regions like Baghdad, Basrah, K3 and Kerkuk and so on…, the others stayed in the village with Levon Pasha.

    In 1975

    The Kurdish revolution people asked for help from our villagers, so we helped them by giving food. When the governmental people saw that they took some of the villagers (old men and young boys) to the prison, they treated them so badly by beating. It 1975 the government fired the villagers and made them leave the village by telling them that there are built houses for them in Zakho. The government army surrounded the village; they brought Russian cars (Zeal type) with them they took our families to Zakho with some of our things (at that time I was 11 years old, I saw all that) they took us to somewhere near Zakho. It was called Shkaft Mara. There were no houses, no buildings, that was an empty area . I remember that my father said to them " You have told us that there are houses for us, and you bring us here ?!!", They answered " Whoever helps the Kurdish people, this what he gets". They left us, they came back to the village and burned and destroyed all of it; so we couldn’t came back to our village. Some of us went to Baghdad, the others stayed in Zakho and started over again. Now we have only one thing that reminds us of our old village which is our old School, it is made of concrete so they could not destroy it.

    Since 2003

    Now because of the terrorist and the security reasons we came back from Iraqi regions to our village and we lived in that school. After that Mr. Sarkis Aghagan helped us by building 115 houses and a new school, and he gave us a generator. He is very helpful man for us. He give to our villagers some important items of food from time to time.



    Our need:-

    1- In our village we have a primary school and secondary school only, so the high school students pass daily 35km to reach to Duhok to their school, Can you please provide a bus to our villagers and students.

    2- We need to construct a sewage way and sidewalks to avoid the diseases.

    3- In our Village the electricity is not provided so we use the generator, can you kindly help us to have mains electricity (We have done the necessary paperwork)

    4- In which way you can help us we are grateful for it.

    5- Please find the attached files, they are the (old school (where we lived in for 8 months), our village, new school) pictures.

    6- When you visited us we told you that there are a sick baby girl , she has a sick heart and her family can not carry on the healing cost. It is very expensive for them , her name is Patil Gayzak.

    7- There are 2 baby boys, they have something wrong with their eyes, and the treatment cost is very high so their families can not carry it on.

    Can you please help them to treat their children?



    Best regards… and God bless you all



    Shant Harutunian

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