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CURRENT
ISSUE: February 5, 2007
VOL.
45, NO. 3Oakland,
CA
Refugees fleeing Iraq seek help
from Catholic Church in Jordan
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| Catholics
pray for peace during Mass in Amman, Jordan, Jan. 23. CNS PHOTO/ALI JAREKJI PHOTO/REUTERS |
JERUSALEM
(CNS) -- The Catholic Church is the first point of reference for Christian
Iraqi refugees when they arrive in Jordan, said the director of the Pontifical
Mission for Palestine in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
“Usually the first thing they do is come to the church. It is the
first contact they have with other people and with relatives,” said
Ra’ed Bahou. “Then they learn about the projects we are doing.”
About 5 percent of the estimated 1 million Iraqis who have sought refuge
in Jordan over the past two years are Christian, he said in a telephone
interview with Catholic News Service. Between 1,000 and 2,000 Iraqis have
crossed the border into Jordan over the past six months, he added.
The Pontifical Mission is an emergency relief agency under the direction
of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a New York-based humanitarian
and support group founded by Pope Pius XI.
The influx of Iraqi refugees has increased the numbers of Christians in
Jordan, and now they fill the pews of the country’s churches, said
Bahou.
“People know they now have to come (to church) a half-hour earlier
to get a seat,” he said.
Though many refugees prefer to come to Jordan because of its comparable
freedom, it is prohibitively expensive for most, he said. Some refugees
have been moving to Syria or the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq around
the city of Arbil, where many churches have moved and the patriarchal
major seminary, Simon Peter, has relocated, he said.
Recently, new restrictions have made it more difficult for men under the
age of 35 to get visas into Jordan, he said.
The situation for the refugees is “very bad,” and two or three
families have been sharing single apartments east of Amman, he said. Many
are especially in need of medical attention, he added.
Many of the more recent arrivals already have family members or friends
living in Amman, which makes the adjustment to their home easier than
for the first refugees, who started arriving about eight years ago.
The unemployment rate in Jordan is high, and the refugees -- who have
no work permits -- are hard-pressed to find work, he said. While some
professionals are working illegally, most end up scraping by with the
salary of a day laborer, he said.
Some Iraqis were able to transfer their funds out of Iraq before they
left in a variety of ways; those make up only about 5 percent of the Iraqis
in Jordan. The vast majority of the refugees need financial assistance
for everything ranging from medical needs, apartment rental and the education
of their children, said Bahou.
Although children of Iraqi refugees are permitted to attend only private
schools, most cannot afford the tuition, he said.
The Pontifical Mission and two orders of nuns have organized an unofficial
school for about 100 Iraqi children to teach them English, math and religion.
Because no Jordanian governmental body exists to oversee the social and
health needs of the refugees, it is largely up to nongovernmental organizations
to assist them, said Bahou.
“Organizations like us can give them the basics, but we can’t
support whole families. We can give them money for one or two months.
It is very difficult emotionally,” he said.
The Iraqis have been accepted by the Jordanian population, he said, and
are slowly becoming part of the ethnic makeup of the country.
“We are used to seeing Iraqi cars in the streets and hearing Iraqi
accents. The relations between the Jordanians and the Iraqis are good;
there just isn’t enough money for their needs,” he said.
