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IRAQ'S FORGOTTEN CHRISTIANS FACE EXCLUSION IN GREECE national |
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news report
 Wednesday May 14, 2003 22:40 by Kathy Tzilivakis
 They are descendants of the ancient Assyrians - builders of the earliest civilisation - and are determined to keep their culture alive, though thousands are undocumented and marginalised A DREAM lost in limbo: After 14 years, one man - an Assyrian from northern Iraq - has all but given up hope that he and his family will one day call Greece their home. "It's a shame," says the man, who wants to be called Petros, although that is not his real name. "We've been in Greece for many years. We don't make any trouble, we live a quiet life. Two of my children were born here. My oldest daughter was very young when we came to Greece. This is the only home they know." Like several thousand other Assyrians (from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey) in Greece, Petros has no papers, no residence permit. And like countless others who fled Iraq "We are not asking anyone for money," says Petros. "All we want is papers. But the government says there is no way. We are now waiting. Will they pass another law? Will my two children who were born here be eligible for citizenship one day?" For Petros and thousands of other Assyrians in this country, home is where the end of the line is: Greece. But the vast majority of Iraqi Assyrians in Greece are undocumented. Many of them arrived over a decade ago to escape the Iran-Iraq war. Others fled the difficult conditions under the embargo. An estimated 90 percent are without papers and many of them are trying to reunite with relatives in other European countries or in the United States, Canada and Australia. They lead a shadowy existence. Like many others, Petros does not have proper identification to open a bank account and he has no health insurance for his family. His children will soon graduate from high school but will have no ID card in order to obtain their certificate of studies. Modern Assyrians in Greece An estimated 6,000 Assyrians live in Greece. Only several hundred have applied for asylum. Some have managed to obtain residence and work permits. About 1,000 are naturalised Greek citizens. The rest have no papers. Greece's Assyrian community can be traced back to the 1920s, when the Assyrian Federation of Greece was formed. This organisation was officially recognised by the Greek state in 1934. Today, the group serves as the community's social support network. In Athens, Assyrian migrants are concentrated mainly in the western Athens suburb of Aegaleo and in the eastern suburb of Kalamaki. In Aegaleo, Assyrians gather at least twice a month in a small makeshift church for Sunday prayer. Mass is conducted by an Assyrian priest from Sweden. The Assyrians were the first to embrace Christianity in the 1st century AD. In a bid to keep their culture alive, special lessons in the ancient language were held at a centre run by the Social Work Foundation, a non-governmental organisation assisting asylum-seekers and refugees in Athens. About 100 youngsters attended these classes last year. Today, lessons are offered by the Assyrian Federation of Greece. Without a homeland Even though the Assyrian empire fell in 612 BC, there are some 4.5 million people who call themselves Assyrians. The heartland of Assyria is located in present-day northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. The remains of the ancient capital of Assyria, Nineveh, are near Mosul in northern Iraq. Today, millions of Assyrians are spread across Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. There are also hundreds of thousands living outside the Middle East. The diaspora is heavily concentrated in Canada, the US (about 400,000) and across Europe. An estimated 30,000 live in Germany, 15,000 in France, 8,000 in the United Kingdom and some 3,000 in Italy. "Now that the war in Iraq is over, if the regime changes, if there is polyphony and freedom for Assyrians in Iraq, many will probably return to their homes," notes Mr. Batsaras, president of the Assyrian Federation of Greece.
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Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5As the Assyrians are Semites by definition this is surely classic anti-semitism against Iraqi Christians? Or is that only when you expose the rackets of well-heeled American jews?
All the negative analysis in the world will not change the fact that in the latter days there would be a nation called Assyria in the Middle East.
A major benchmark was to be the establishment of a nation of Israel in it's old location. This nation appeared in 1948 and one 19 year cycle later it again included the city of Jerusalem.
For the latter days prophecies to occur there needs to be a nation established on the coast that will comprise the Pasestinians, and a nation called Assyria. Whether it will be called Assyria at first is a good question.
The other nations in the area are recognizable from their old territories (Iran is Persia of old, for example). Jordan will be divided into three separate regions.
Right now these things are beginning to happen. The middle east is headed for a time of prosperity, and the various nations will actually try to get along with each other. Some of these changes may be the result of the US using it's influence (or power), but that might be the means the Eternal uses to effect the changes.
This is not way in the future. It will probably amaze us just how fast this can happen. Of course there are things to happen that will take longer. One is the building of a new temple in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 19:23-25
"In that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria. And Assyria shall come into Egypt; and Egypt into Assyria; and Egypt shall serve Assyria. In that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the mist of the earth, Whom Jehovah of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be My people Egypt, and Assyria, the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."
In the 21st century of the western world, there is recognition of a country named "Egypt", there is recognition of a country called "Israel", soon there will be a country call Assyria, so this prophesy for the end of times can be fulfill. I see the beggining of the birth of the Assyrian country with the liberation of Irak.
Mathew 12:41: "The Ninevites shall rise in judgement of the world!"
This statement is so racist as to be nauseating. Let no-one be in any doubt about that.
I refer to gangsters like Rabbi Singer in New York and the small bunch of thugs who have extorted money from European contries on the pretext of representing the few genuine holocaust survivors.
The "Anti-Semitism" weapon has been well used by them to silence anyone who dares speak a word about Jewish rackets centres on exploiting the image of a mostly Hollywood version of history. Just like you did here Avi.
I refer anyone who is interested in the details of these rackets to read "The Holocause Industry" by Norman Finklestein. He is the son of two holocaust survivors who writes honestly about the expolitation of genuine survivors by these jewish gangsters in the USA .
Not Irish, not Italian but Jewish gangsters. The same few Jewish gangsters who are behind most of the main jewish lobby groups. They extort money on the excuse they represent holocaust survivors and then they keep it.
For example when an independent Jewish report found that only $50 million was owed to survivors by Swiss banks the Jewish Lobby in the US forced Clinton to extort over $1.5 Billion from the Swss. The Swiss had to pay up faced with crushing US economic sanctions. None of this money was paid to holocaust survivors but went into the coffers of the jewish gangsters like Rabbi Singer.
It is in their interest to "sell" this "product" so they twee and spin all stories. It is also crucial to the moral justification for the actions of Israel. Any murder they do is given special moral dispensation becuase of "how Israel suffered".
You will of course continue to shout "Racist" or "Anti-Semite" against me but that will not change the facts which are to be found in "The Holocaust Industry" by Finklestein. I can quote ad nauseum to back up my claim but you may then accuse me of plagerism. Why not read it direct from a master historian and and Jew that I would be glad to embrace as a friend. Not you Avi who continually justifies the sick murderous actions of Israel. You are Zionist. You are racist. Go away.
Well why can't they go back to Iraq now that its been 'liberated'. They're always moaning on about their plight in Iraq, its been 'liberated' now send them home.