Make provisions to bring in Christian refugees under threat of genocide in the Middle East

We're proud as Canadians to call ourselves an altruistic and philanthropic nation that is willing to open our doors to anyone in their time of need. This was demonstrated last year by PM Trudeau's target of bringing in 25,000+ refugees.

However it is important to note that no special provisions are being made to bring in the Christians who are being persecuted in Muslim nations. Demographics still show that Muslims are the largest among the population who are being brought into our country, both through the government's efforts and those of private agencies (including churches). Despite calls from various religious leaders to respond to the genocide of Christians in the Middle East, our government has simply stated, "We are not focusing on any ethnic or religious minorities." (Nancy Chan, Communications advisor, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Dec 23, 2015).

Isn't the entire point of bringing in 'refugees' trying to help the vulnerable people in nations with governments that will not protect them? We've seen ISIS marching Coptic Christians onto a beach in Ethiopia and beheading them. We've heard of Christians being forced to convert to Islam, pay kafir taxes to Daesh and the killings of those that stand by their faith. We've listened to news of church burnings in Syria and stories of kidnappings, ransom and sexual slavery by Muslim extremists against Christians. Children are killed in front of their parents and vice versa, their crime being 'apostasy.' We see gruesome pictures of Christians being crucified and burned alive for refusing to denounce Christ, and yet we go on with our day to day lives, comfortable in our own beautiful little niches, since none of this directly affects us. It doesn't, does it?

You've never been more wrong. It does.

Each one of us as Christians are part of the body of Christ, and any act that is committed against the body of Christ affects each one of us. Yes, you might choose to ignore it, but it does not change the fact that our inaction to protect our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, despite being able to do so is equivalent to crucifying our Lord once again by letting His body be attacked. 

The secular audience of this post might say, "Well stop ranting. If Christians wanted to be saved, they would've made an attempt to leave the country or at least go and live in a refugee camp. Isn't it their fault that they don't go to the UNHCR camps that are set up for all the refugees, without distinction of religion or ethnicity?" You're right in saying that the camps are not exclusive to one religion or ethnic group. However as Kiri Kankhwende, senior press officer for the United Kingdom-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide pointed out, many Christians in the Middle East prefer not to go to the UNHCR camps due to the 'strict Muslim environment dominating camps, the intimidation they may face because of their different lifestyle, especially in terms of dress code, the lack of proper security and policing and the emergence of evidence of extremists infiltrating refugee camps.' There are no churches in most of them, but there exist plenty of mosques. Christians don't even have the freedom to worship. Kankhwende goes on to say, "There are reports of UNHCR local staff discriminating against Christians and dissuading them from registering for resettlement," and that "many refugee camps in Europe have witnessed acts of hostilities and violence against Christian refugees by their Muslim counterparts." As a matter of fact, this argument proves in favour of bringing in more Christian refugees. If they find themselves at risk even in refugee camps that were built for the sole purpose of protecting people in a similar predicament, isn't it more reason to bring them into a country where they will be more safe?

How does this affect Christianity in the Middle East in general? 

In 2011 there were 12 million Christians in the Middle East, spread across several countries including Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon but recent reports suggest that as a proportion of the Middle East population their numbers have dropped from 14% in 1910 to just four per cent today. Christian charity Open Doors cites Islamic extremism in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and the Central African Republic as the most common driver of persecutions of Christians, a trend that has only increased with the rise of groups such as Islamic State (IS) and Boko Haram.

Tens of thousands of Christians have been displaced in Iraq and Syria, with as many as 120,000 fleeing to Iraqi Kurdistan. Before the Syrian civil war there were an estimated 1.8 million Christians living in Syria - now that figure is as low as 800,000. In Iraq, 120,000 Christians have fled Daesh areas including Mosul, which IS declared was "free of Christians" in July 2014.

We might be a secular country, but we ought to care for the Christians even if we don't care about Christianity. Instead, we live in a country where the government refuses to call the attacks on Christians a 'genocide,' (despite it fulfilling the definition of the term by the United Nations Convention as acts "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group.") and where our government refuses to identify the root of the problem as radical Islamic terrorism. A country that was built upon Judeo-Christian ideals has abandoned its own Christian brothers and sisters.

This petition might sound discriminatory for being so specific about Christians, but the truth is that their cries have been ignored for so long and they deserve to be heard. We are nothing but the voice that they were never able to vocalize, because it is an undeniable fact that Christians of the Middle East have been specifically and systematically targeted by Muslim militants. 

Therefore we the undersigned have certain demands that we ask be fulfilled in order to help these persecuted Christian groups in Muslim nations. Firstly, we ask that you send aid in the form of food, clothing and other necessities to these groups that live outside the camps due to fears of being persecuted within them. Secondly we ask that you make provisions for the internationally funded education programs to reach out to children living outside the camps, so that they too can have access to quality education. Thirdly, we ask that you make special arrangements  for these specific minority religious and ethnic groups to be moved temporarily or permanently to locations that serve as sanctuaries so that they might not be attacked by Islamist militants. Fourthly, we ask that Canada be actively involved in the fight against the Islamic State and accept that it is a religiously motivated organization that is causing the demise of the Christian faith in the Middle East and the ruthless extermination of innocent men, women and children. Fifthly, we ask that you encourage Middle Eastern allies to promote the freedom of religion within their countries and strictly punish religious extremism and bigotry. Additionally, we ask that the suffering families be compensated for the loss of their family members and property and be given sufficient funds by which they can start a new life. Lastly, we demand that Canada open its doors in order to let larger numbers of Christian refugees as they are the ones being targeted and killed mercilessly. 

You might have read this entire message and felt nothing. That's alright. You might have read certain parts of it, felt irritated and labelled me as an intolerant religious bigot. I'm fine with that too. However, if you read this and feel something that pricks your heart and fills you with compassion, please sign this petition. It is the least you can do, regardless of your age, social background or financial status. Or you can choose to ignore it, but do not forget the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
 Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."