Iraq

More than two million Iraqis are currently on the run, largely within their own country. In addition, there are thousands of refugees from surrounding countries, with Syria leading the way. Most of the displaced are seeking refuge in the Kurdish part of the country or around the capital Baghdad.

Thousands of families vegetate in their tents in camps - for years, with no prospect of improvement. Photography and filming are forbidden, the misery should not be shown. A few years ago, the Iranian military made its presence felt on Iraqi soil and bombarded the Kurdish camps with missiles. Anyone with a foreign passport fled, some Kurds surrendered in Iran and were immediately sent to prison. The camps are now only partially inhabited - families, women and children live scattered between Erbil and Suleymania. Women and children - separated from their husbands and fathers - hope to be taken soon to a safe country assigned to them by the UN.

Just a few decades ago, some 1.5 million Christians lived in Iraq. Today, the Christian community has dwindled to a few hundred thousand. One of the goals of IS terror is to drive Christians out of the country altogether as infidels”. The latter is mainly active in small splinter groups in Iraq and Syria and is thus very agile. As long as security is not restored in Iraq, Christians will stay away from the country.