Vicar of Baghdad Admits He Was Wrong on Post-War Iraq, but Won't Give Up

Michael Ireland : Feb 21, 2012
Assist News Service

"I said all along that it wouldn't make any difference to us if the Americans leave. I was really wrong. But we won't give up, we won't stop our work, and by God's grace we will keep going." -Canon Andrew White

(Baghdad, Iraq)—Following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, the Christian minority faces continued sectarian violence, political mayhem, unemployment, lack of security, failing health care and the inability to buy food.

According to the popular cleric, Canon Andrew White, the 'Vicar of Baghdad' who serves St. George's Church in Baghdad, conditions have grown worse for the Christian community since the American departure. Among the exclamations of the Christians in Iraq is the statement: "We Have Been Left and We Have Nothing!"

Canon White told ANS in a recent update: "None of us thought there would be any change here after the US troops left. They had not been seen on the streets for two years. We were totally wrong: from the day that the US military left we were in total chaos and disarray.

"Violence increased, religious sectarianism increased again in force. We could not even enter the Green Zone, as any badges issued by the US were no longer valid; the new badges were simply not being issued. Total mayhem politically began with the prime minister issuing a warrant for the arrest of the Vice President Tariq Al Hashami. He was accused of terrorism, and sadly there was a lot of evidence to suggest this was true."

White said that with this action, great significance was placed on the fact that the Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki was Shia and the Vice President was the most senior Sunni political figure in the country. "Terrible sectarian violence targeting the Shia has begun," White said.

White continued: "There were also coordinated attacks on the institutions of the state, including on the Foreign Ministry, which is very close to St. George's Church. With the arrest warrant for the Sunni Vice President issued by the Shia Prime Minister, the fragile coalition government is fracturing down sectarian lines and turning violently on itself.

"What I most feared would happen, is happening. I said all along that it wouldn't make any difference to us if the Americans leave. I was really wrong," said White.

White stated: "It is becoming really difficult in Iraq right now. Before, we knew that the US were just around the corner, so we could get them if we needed them, but now they are not there. But we won't give up, we won't stop our work, and by God's grace we will keep going."

Canon White said events in Iraq have escalated in recent days, as the departure of the US troops appears to have sparked a series of attacks and disputes within the divided country.

Just one week ago, US President Barack Obama declared: "We are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government elected by its people."

White says the reality is "swiftly proving to contradict the President's words."

"There are times when we ourselves face great danger. Our people have been slaughtered, massacred and murdered, but now we have nobody to turn to. There has been much talk about the security needs of our people. The Iraqi Government has tried to do what it can, but we do not live in a ghetto. The Christians are based all over Iraq, but especially in Baghdad and Nineveh/Mosul. 2,700 years after Jonah, Nineveh is still the place where all Christians come from. So the Christians and all minorities are less safe than they have ever been," Canon White said.

Canon White said that although he may be the leader of a church, "but after services each week I also have to give all my 4,000 plus people food for the week... Iraq today is still an insecure place where most of the people have nothing."

White added: "Things are difficult for all Iraqis, but for us as minorities, it is particularly so. The violence here is known about and is terrible and much of it has come from outside, but now we have another huge problem. It is such a big issue that three years ago we became the top nation in the world in this crime; it is nothing less than corruption. Corruption that is so great that we no longer know whom we can even trust."

"I have just come from our prayer meeting and I told people about today's update and they said, "Everybody may have left us, but Yeshua (Jesus) has not!"