Louis Raphaël I Sako

"This situation is a challenge not only for Christians, but for the whole world. After all, the fanatics want to make the whole world Islamic. The West should help us so that we can stay and do not have to leave. Iraq is our land; we have our traditions and values there. When we are in Western Europe we feel lost. We live in a very closeknit family community, but among you Westerners individualism is the rule. We are very important for the Muslims in Iraq, too, thanks to our openness, our qualifications, and our Christian values. We witness to something different. The world has the duty of reminding the government in Iraq to uphold human rights so that the religious minorities can live their faith."

"A solution is possible if we can come together in dialogue and try to achieve reforms in an atmosphere of trust and not with military violence; if we in the Middle East can guarantee human rights such as is the case in the Western countries. Our governments have also committed themselves to this, but they do little to achieve it."