Mosul, Iraq, Aug 6, 2014 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Catholic Relief Services and Caritas have agreed to a common plan to help those who have fled from their homes in the portions of northern Iraq now controlled by the Islamic State. The militant Sunni Islamist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was among the rebels fighting in the Syrian civil war; this spring it spread its operations to Iraq, taking control of Mosul and swaths of territory in the country's north and west. It has now declared a caliphate, and calls itself the Islamic State. All non-Sunni persons in the Islamic State have been persecuted – Christians, Yazidis, and Shia Muslims have all fled the territory. In response to the crisis, Catholic Relief Services – the U.S. bishops' international charity arm – and Caritas have identified short and medium-term priorities to help minorities, most of them Christian, who have fled the Islamic State, after conducting a survey of 25 displaced families staying in schools, churches, empty houses, with host families, and in rental accommodations. “Most are uncertain about the future, but do not see themselves returning home any time soon,” explained Kris Ozar, head of programming for CRS Egypt, in an Aug. 4 interview with CNA. “The level of psychological trauma is high, especially among minorities, who were more directly targeted by the violence.” Thousands of Christians and other minorities fled Mosul after a July 18 ultimatum demanding they convert, pay jizya, or be killed. They went to other towns in Nineveh province and in Iraqi Kurdistan. Many were stripped of their possessions at Islamic State checkpoints, escaping with nothing but the clothes on their backs. “Many of these families had first fled Mosul in June, but recently returned under the impression that it was safe to do so, making the latest displacement even more traumatic,” Ozar recounted. “Humanitarian conditions in the country continue to deteriorate,” he said, adding that “population displacement is widespread but highly fluid, with little reliable data on overall numbers at any time.” “With CRS and Caritas Germany co-funding, Caritas Iraq responded to the Mosul crisis by distributing essential food and non-food items to 2,000 displaced families by the end of June,” Ozar said. The package included 10 days’ worth of food and essential bedding and hygienic supplies. “In response to the new wave of displacement from Mosul in mid-July, Caritas Iraq distributed a similar package of food and non-food assistance to another 400 newly displaced partners.” As a result of the survey of displaced families, CRS and Caritas decided to focus immediately on education and psychosocial activities for internally displaced children, in addition to ongoing relief for new arrivals. “The Ministry of Education requested immediate assistance to ensure that all children are able to take their end of year exams in mid-August” since many children have “missed weeks or months of school and need help to catch up on their classes,” Ozar explained. “So CRS and Caritas will help students at grades 9 and 12 to catch up on their classes before the exams.” The assistance to children will also include psychosocial support and healing, given the scale of emotional trauma suffered. In the heavily affected areas of Nineveh province, CRS and its partners are working to reach as many as 3,500 families with food, water, and essential living supplies. “With people on the move and robbed of their belongings, many have no means to purchase the basics just to get by.” Caritas and CRS are also preparing to support longer-term resettlement with winterization, shelter, and livelihood support. In addition to the assistance offered by CRS and Caritas, Aid to the Church in Need has donated $134,000 to the Church in Iraq; the Congregation for the Oriental Churches has sent $50,000, and the Pontifical Council Cor Unum gave $40,000. Inhabitants of Mosul who have fled to other locations in Nineveh province, such as Bakhdida, lack drinking water, electricity, and medicine, the Islamic State having cut off their supplies. On Aug. 3, the Islamic State took control of Sinjar, a Yazidi-majority town fewer than 80 miles west of Mosul. The Yazidi are an ethno-religious minority, most of whom live in Nineveh province. Much of the town's population of 20,000 have abandoned their home for Dohuk province, part of Kurdistan. Read more

Jos, Nigeria, Aug 6, 2014 / 02:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, a city in northern Nigeria, has stressed the importance of remaining present to his people despite the looming threat posed by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram. “I go out. I never miss any public functions or ceremonies. That tells (my priest and religious) that I am with them, and with the people,” Archbishop Kaigama told Aid to the Church in Need July 31 while in New York. “I go out in public, wearing my formal garb, to be present.” “Protecting myself would make me a prisoner – aside from the money we’d have to spend from our meagre resources. It would make the people afraid! Imagine if priests would go around with protection. We believe God is with us. We believe that we will triumph despite the machinations of the evildoers.” Stating that what Nigerians need most is comfort, he said: “the first thing I will do upon my return from this journey is to go to a parish; and to join a celebration of a congregation that celebrates its 50th anniversary. I will stay in a village that has no electricity – no matter.” “I have to be present.” Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful,” launched an uprising in 2009 and hopes to impose sharia law on Nigeria. It has targeted security forces, politicians, Christian minorities, and moderate Muslims in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north. Its attacks in 2009 alone have killed more than 2,000. In Jos, Archbishop Kaigama's cathedral city, May 20 bombings killed 118 and injured 56. “At first we thought that they were simply against Western education and wanted to propagate what they believed was the authentic message of Islam,” the archbishop said. “Then they went after the government, and next came the churches.” “We must not forget that Muslim places of worship have also been targets. The repeated attacks in Kano and Kaduna show that the fight has gone beyond the religions of Islam and Christianity. In fact, many Muslims and Christians of good will are speaking a common language now and are exploring ways to bring an end to this menace.” He said that “we do our best to create harmony and understanding,” noting in particular the Nigeria Interreligious Council, which “explore(s) where we come together and where we differ. We are not just fighting each other – that is a misleading caricature of our country.” While there are irreconciliable differences of belief between Christians and Muslims, Archbishop Kaigama said of dialogue: “it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” “There is what we call the 'Dialogue of Life.' There is no alternative than to come together, as human beings – drink tea or coffee together. Let’s get to know each other … 'Dialogue of Life' means simply, ‘your life affects mine, and mine affects yours.’ It is quite simple. It is not about producing instant results, but to be friends and to be engaged in conversation.” The Church, he said, “tries to promote dialogue, providing relief and in terms of simply being there. We stand out prominently – not to boast – because we have been helpful beyond political and religious divides. This good will comes from the heart, and the people appreciate it.” “People come to me for help and often I feel embarrassed because I can do so little,” Archbishop Kaigama added. “I thought my work was just to bless people … but I also have to worry about water and electricity.” He lamented the Nigerian government's seeming inability, both to defeat Boko Haram, and to govern. “Our leaders simply are not very sensitive to the poor, even when aid is available.” There are “serious sympathizers” of the Islamist group “both in and outside Nigeria,” he said, but “up to now our government has not been able to smoke them out … there should be ways to trace financing and other forms of support, but I don’t believe that our government is making this a top priority.” “Despite lots of money spent by our government and the military, answers are still grossly lacking.” Amnesty Intertional reported Aug. 4 that the Nigerian military has, in its fight against Boko Haram, committed atrocities such as extrajudicial executions. Mentioning the April abduction by Boko Haram of nearly 300 teenaged schoolgirls – of whom 60 escaped, while the rest remain kidnapped – Archbishop Kaigama said that “contrary to my expectations, nothing much has happened, even in the wake of the abduction of the schoolgirls which made headlines around the world.” Archbishop Kaigama concluded, saying that Boko Haram's violence does make him afraid: “yes, it is normal to be afraid.” “But given my task, I have given up everything to serve God and his people. I don’t have a biological family, wife and children, any possession I can call my own. If I should lose my life in the process of defending people’s rights to freedom of worship and the unity of humanity, apart from my beloved pastoral collaborators and excellent people of goodwill (from various religious and ethnic backgrounds) I would leave behind, I have no other liabilities.” “While one does not court death, it is an inevitable end for all of us, including even for those who claim they are killing and bombing in the name of God. Certain as death will come, still, one is afraid of death, which is true for everybody.” Read more

Jerusalem, Israel, Aug 5, 2014 / 04:56 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A new 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is offering locals and aid workers invaluable time to safely secure essential supplies, but many remain skeptical that it will bring an end to ... Read more

Monrovia, Liberia, Aug 5, 2014 / 03:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Saint Joseph’s Catholic Hospital and the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God in Liberia have announced that a hospital director passed away Aug. 2 after contracting the Ebola virus. ... Read more