Erbil, Iraq, December 8, 2014
On December 22, 2013, the parliament of the Republic of Iraq declared the day of celebration of the Nativity of Christ a national public holiday. Nobody then could imagine the radical changes that were to occur within the following year. Now the Iraqi Christians, though in poverty and under persecution, are glorifying God and celebrating Christmas in refugee camps.
A group of volunteers from among the Christians who had to leave the Nineveh Valley fleeing from ISIS have set up a Nativity scene in a tent city of Iraqi Kurdistan, reports the Salam1 news portal.
Ahead of Christmas the Christians who took shelter in the vicinity of Erbil have begun actively preparing for the meeting of the great feast that once was celebrated throughout Iraq. The chief aim of the organizers is to give the joy of Nativity to the Nineveh children who have been deprived of gifts, shelter, and family warmth.
“The holy days of December – the month when Christ was born, have come. Let us recall that the Infant Jesus was born in a poor place, though He could have chosen the best palaces of the world for this purpose; but such was His decision aimed to testify that He came, first of all, for the sake of the poor and destitute. Every year we meet this feast in warm, comfortable circumstances, in the atmosphere of children’s joy. But let us think that the Good news of His Birth finds our brothers in sorrow and utter poverty,” wrote volunteers on the “Call for Mosul Christians” movement’s official page.
According to the activists, this action is meant to become a starting point for a series of similar events: “Thus we are launching a charitable action, “Christmas is Joy for Children”. On December 24 we are planning to visit tent cities of Kurdistan in order to inspire joy and hope in young refugees and their parents. During the Nativity week we will keep distributing tasty, hot meals, new clothes, Christmas gifts among desperate families. This is the least we can do for our dear brothers and sisters”.
The volunteers are calling Christians worldwide to aid. In order to receive the necessary details for making transfers of money, it is recommended to appeal straight to the action’s organizers through their official Facebook page.
