“We have sent 23 boxes with each one containing 20 Children Bibles to the Christians in Basra and that is great news. For many years the Christians in the south of Iraq have been isolated from the rest of Iraq, and even maybe from the rest of the world. But fortunately the communication and transportation lines are re-opening again. Praise the Lord”, says Fadi, one of our co-workers in Iraq.
The city of Basra has a population of almost 1 million persons and is Iraq’s fourth largest city after Baghdad, Mosul and Erbil. It is Iraq’s main port and it is a proposed location of the Garden of Eden. Due to the war and instability of recent years, most Christians have left the city, after decades of existence in the town. Some people say that from the tens of thousands of Christians that used to live in Basra before 2003, only about a thousand remain. In the past the secular city dealt with people of all religious backgrounds with tolerance, but nowadays it has become a conservative society with many Muslim extremists in power. Although life is difficult and persecution is happening, still some Christians chose to stay in Basra. “My family has lived for decades here. I am born and raised in the city, and I have done my education here. Why should I leave? This is my hometown too, and also of my Christian faith”, says Amir, one of the few who stayed.
"As Open Doors, we want to support the Christians in Basra with literature, training and other needs, when necessary. Pray for them, and pray that the sent Bibles are received safely."
