From: covici@ccs.covici.com (John Covici)
Reply-To: covici@ccs.covici.com
Newsgroups: alt.activism
Subject: Interview with Chaldean Church Spokesman On Iraqi Embargo
Date: 31 Aug 92 7:9:6 GMT
Organization: Covici Computer Systems

Interview with Father Philip ``Relieve
this embargo as soon as possible'' 


{Father Philip Najim
was interviewed by telephone on Aug. 15
by editor Nancy Spannaus, who is also
the U.S. coordinator for the Committee
to Save the Children in Iraq.} 

   {Q:} Can you tell our readers
precisely who you are? 
   {A:} I am general secretary for
foreign affairs of the Chaldean
Patriarchate. While I am an Iraqi, I
work out of Rome, Italy. I have visited
Iraq five or six times in the period
following the ceasefire in the spring
of 1991. 

   {Q:} I understand that the
Chaldean Church has found favorable
conditions for its work in Iraq, unlike
what has happened in many other Middle
Eastern countries. 
   {A:} The Chaldean community is
very old and the biggest Christian
community in Iraq. We have 30 churches
in the capital, Baghdad, and our
Patriarch Rafael I. Bidawid lives
there. In every city we have churches
and dioceses. We also have a seminary,
a monastery, and a convent. 
   Yes, we have always had the
freedom to practice our religion in
Iraq. We have not had any problems or
interference either from the Muslims or
the government. 

   {Q:} What has been the church's
involvement in the relief efforts? 
   {A:} Well, we established an
ecumenical committee in Baghdad to
direct our relief effort, and
cooperated as well with the  
non-governmental organizations at the
United Nations. What supplies these
organizations brought in, we
distributed. 
   First, we count the families in
need. Then the parish priests come in
to get the goods, and then distribute
the food and medicine in their local
areas. But the relief is not just for
the Christians, but also for the
Muslims. It doesn't make any difference
what religion they are. 

   {Q:} Can you give us an idea of
the scope of the effort? 
   {A:} Well, up until the last time
that I left there, six or seven months
ago, there had been an enormous amount.
Now, since then, Caritas (an official
relief organization of the Roman
Catholic Church) has opened relief
services in Iraq. The Pope sent
delegations there two or three times,
and then, two or three months ago,
Caritas began to establish offices all
over Iraq. 
   - Working with the Government -
   {Q:} Did you collaborate with the
government? 
   {A:} We collaborated with the
government straight away. I met with
the Minister of Religious Affairs and
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We
organized the relief effort with them. 
   Most of the relief goods, by the
way, come from Europe. 

   {Q:} Some people have said that
the relief effort and the
reconstruction effort being carried out
by the Iraqi government are only
helping certain layers of the Iraqi
population related to the military?
What about the enormously high price of
food? 
   {A:} No, the reconstruction is
benefitting all of society. They all
are getting clean water and telephone
service. The reconstruction is
benefitting the people. As for the high
price of food, that is the result of
the deliberate destruction of the Iraqi
currency. That means that everything in
the cities is priced high. 

   {Q:} How do you assess the work of
the Committee to Save the Children in
Iraq? 
   {A:} Well, we are part of that
Committee. The Committee has brought
maybe 30 to 40 children out of Iraq for
medical treatment, and brought in a
certain amount of food. 
        - And From the U.S. -
   {Q:} Some of that food has come
from the United States. What has been
the reaction? 
   {A:} Yes, some of the food has
been stamped indicating it comes from
the United States. The reaction is that
people are very grateful. Milk is very
much needed in Iraq. People are very
surprised to see the food from the
United States, but they are grateful. 
   I hope that the Committee, which
started after the embargo, and has
worked with volunteers, will keep on
with the job. It has been very
successful, and is benefitting the
people. 
   Two tons of milk powder, for
example, will provide milk for
thousands of children. 

   {Q:} Do you have a message for the
readers of our newspaper? 
   {A:} My message is that they
should work to relieve the embargo as
soon as possible. Up until today, the
Iraqi people do not understand this
policy of the United Nations and United
States. The embargo is directed against
the Iraqi people, not the government.
But the Iraqi people are innocent; they
have had nothing to do with the
conflict. 
   The black market is destroying the
country. It is a tremendous cost to the
people, and they are tired and
suffering. There is so much sickness in
the country. 
   If anything is wrong, the problem
should be solved with the government.
But now, people are always asking about
the embargo: Why? Why us? 

From New Federalist V6, #33.

----
         John Covici
          covici@ccs.covici.com

Newsgroups: alt.activism