The United Nations and world governments have “done nothing” to help Iraq’s Christians, but the country's Catholics and other Christians have high hopes that President Trump will be a “savior” of Iraq's vulnerable minorities.
That’s according to Yohanna Towaya, a Syriac Catholic refugee from Qaraqosh, until recently Iraq’s largest Christian city.
A grandfather and wealthy farmer who lost all his livelihood after ISIS invaded Qaraqosh in August 2014, Towaya shares many of the refugees' concerns and observations in this March 20 interview with the Register in Erbil where he lives as an internally displaced person (IDP).
He discusses the lawlessness now present in the towns, why refugees see the U.S. as having primary responsibility among nations to help, and why Iraq's Christians want protection not just for their lives, but also for their rich Christian heritage.