Persecution continues. Pray.
Emma Green reports on the declining state of Christianity in the Nineveh Plain in Iraq (“The Impossible Future of Christians in the Middle East,” The Atlantic, May 23, 2019). One of the earliest established Christian communities, Chaldean believers are now the object of persecution from various directions.
ISIS provoked the latest round of persecution, which, since their defeat, has been taken up by Kurds and Muslims in Iraq. Christians are leaving the area, and those who stay have difficulty finding jobs and fear for their safety.
But a faithful remnant remains and, with considerable help from USAID, hopes to rebuild infrastructure and other cultural foundations – schools, mainly – to make it possible for the Chaldeans to remain in their homeland.
The future is uncertain, but the hope remains that Chaldean believers can hold on to their homeland and continue the traditions of faith passed down from their forebears.