Ishtar TV. com / Majid Aziza - Canada / Translation: Atour Michael
   Mr. Madloum Marouki representative of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council participated in the Defending of the Christians conference, which was held in Washington recently and lasted for three days, where (1232) personalities from around the world participated in it. The conference was headed by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, head of the Congregation of Oriental Churches, where he delivered to the participants Pope Francis’ blessings and called to pray for peace. In a press statement, Mr. Marouki confirmed that the conference was a global event against terrorism in all its forms, and against what has been committed by the gangs of so-called Islamic State (Daesh) in Iraq and Syria, of bloody crimes and displacement of the Christians. He pointed out that the words discoursed were all calling for a more prominent position and bigger steps to protect the Christians. While the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Al Rae’e said in his word “the Middle East is the homeland of Christians, but today they are threatened with extinction.”
   Mr. Marouki said that the conference that was held in the Omni Sheraton Hotel in Washington, DC, started by a prayer for the displaced Christians, with the participation of the Patriarchs of the East, who were generally so active in the work of the conference. In the next day the conferees moved to the Hall of Capitol Hill to complete their speeches, where (17) members of the Congress participated with their words, expressing their support for the displaced Christians; the American Congress also hosted a number of sessions aside from the conference, in order to inform its members closely on the needs of the oppressed nationalities (Chaldean Syriac Assyrian, Shabak and Yezidis) in the Middle East and the ways to protect them, in accordance with the international laws, as well as providing the necessary assistance for them, and finding a safe area where they can live in peace and security, in order to stop their emigration.
   Mr. Marouki added, the word delivered by Cardinal Donald Wirral Archbishop of Washington was of a great importance, where he spoke about the horrible conditions suffered by the Christians in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, and he warned of what is happening in these countries.
   During the days of the conference Mr. Marouki met with Cardinal Sandri and a number of the participants Patriarchs, where they talked about the Christians displaced from the city of Mosul and the villages of the Nineveh Plain and the ways to end the tragic situation they live in the cities where they fled to in the Kurdistan Region. At the end of his statement, Mr. Marouki thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government for opening the Region’s doors to receive the displaced and sheltering them in schools and churches, and for providing as much as possible all their needs, and he called on the world countries to provide assistance to the provincial government to ease the crisis. Marouki also appealed to the decision-makers to speed up in taking immediate steps to end the suffering of Christians in Iraq and the Middle East countries.