Iraqi Christians who have fled to Syria want to go home, but the humiliation they risk makes it difficult to return.
"Even though I was often threatened in Iraq, I didn't want to leave," said an Armenian Orthodox hairdresser. "
"They burned my salon and stole my husband's car, so we left everything."
At a meeting in Damascus in April 08, Iraqi refugees spoke to church members from the US, Germany, Pakistan, Sweden and the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches in the hope that they have the power to help end the refugees' tragedy.
"Animals have it better than humans in Iraq, they can move freely. We were too scared to go to church because people were kidnapped there," said a Syrian Orthodox refugee. According to Christian refugees, being a minority in Iraq is dangerous. "You are suspected of treason and helping the allies. It's as if we don't belong to the community and haven't lived with Muslims for centuries."
