Iraqi children terrified to go to school
Iraqi children terrified to go to school in case of kidnapping
Dubai: A Baghdad church minister on a visit to Dubai has said children in the Iraqi capital are terrified to go to school because they fear they will be kidnapped on the way home.
Canon Andrew White, Chaplain of St George's Church in Baghdad and founder of the Iraqi Institute of Peace, described the situation in Iraq as "awful".
He lost four church colleagues last year to the violence that is spiralling out of control in the wake of the 2003 invasion.
Canon White, who was in Dubai to meet Sunni religious leader Shaikh Ahmad Al Kubaisi, said: "Optimism in Iraq is long past. I don't have any optimism. I just try. You cannot give up.
"Everything is awful and the children in the congregation are frightened to go to school because they might be kidnapped on their way home."
Canon White, 42, a Briton who is chief executive of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East, said about 1,200 people worship at St George's, although the majority are not Anglicans.
"Most are worshipping at St George's simply because it's the closest church to them. They cannot go to the other churches - it's too dangerous to travel," he said.
Canon White himself cannot take services at St George's, as it lies outside the Green Zone to which he is confined, so he leads congregations at the Iraqi Prime Minister's offices.
As well as in Iraq, he also works on reconciliation in Palestine and often flies to Washington for talks.
He said: "We don't just meet with good people like Shaikh Ahmad. Most of the people we work with are bad. It's not interfaith relations where you sit down and eat smoked salmon sandwiches together."
Canon White yesterday spoke to worshippers at Holy Trinity Church, Dubai, and St Martin's Church, Sharjah, and accepted a cheque for nearly $10,000 from the Anglican Chaplaincy of Dubai and Sharjah.
Reverend John Weir, Senior Chaplain at Holy Trinity Church, said: "We are delighted to welcome him and to feel that Christians here can be part of some positive action in Iraq."
