Iraqi Christians celebrate Christmas with heavy hearts

Iraqi Christians celebrate Christmas this year with a heavy heart due to the deteriorating security situation in the country and the increasing violations of their rights.

Just a short while before Christmas, Christians in Baghdadi neighbourhoods such as Karrada, al-Ghadir and Zayuna woke up to flyers posted on street wall calling on Christian women to cover their hair.

Meanwhile, thousands of Iraqi Christians from the northern Nineveh province remain displaced and scattered in various refugee camps.

They are among the 120,000 Christians who were forced to flee their homes when the Islamic State group (IS) seized close to a third of Iraq's territory in 2014.

"Christians in Iraq will celebrate Christmas with silence and tears in a departure from the usual celebrations," said Luis Raphael Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church.

"Christians are suffering through their worst year this year due to the state of the country and the occupation of their areas, in addition to the discrimination and marginalisation they face," Sako added.

Sako believes that Iraqi Christians are treated as second-class citizens in their own country, where there are not afforded the same rights and freedoms as other Iraqis.

We can't be happy about the arrival of Christmas while we see our Iraqi brothers being killed everywhere and while the country is locked in a bitter war -Yusuf Hanna

Over half a million Iraqi Christians have left the country since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which is approximately half of the Iraqi Christian population according to the country's Christian Endowment.

"The number of Christians in Iraq before 2003 was close to 1,200,000, while their current numbers are between 400,000 and 500,000," said a statement by the Christian Endowment.

"The majority fled the country due to the country's security instability and after being targeted by militias and extremist groups," added the statement.

Yusuf Hanna, a Baghdadi Christian told The New Arab of his deep sorrow for the state of the country.

"We can't be happy about the arrival of Christmas while we see our Iraqi brothers being killed everywhere and while the country is locked in a bitter war," said Hanna, in reference to the war against IS.

"We are really worried about the attacks that we're subjected to from time to time. This year we will celebrate with silence, tears and prayers for peace in the world," added Hanna.

Meanwhile, Baghdad's municipality erected a giant Christmas tree in the city's Zawraa park and Muslims held candles outside a number of churches in the capital to express solidarity and reassure their Christian compatriots.