Things are moving in Lebanon to marginalize the Christians represented by Aoun because of their stand with the resistance.

that is why Syria will be the only real Arab country,Iraqi Christians flee to Syria
AP



Damascus: More than 35,000 Iraqi Christians have fled to Syria to escape the violence in their country, the leader of an Iraqi Christian group said yesterday.

Christians, who make up 3 per cent of Iraq's 26 million people, are leaving because of individual threats from extremists and the general deterioration of security in Iraq, said Emmanuel Khoshaba, the Syrian head of the Assyrian and Democratic Movement.

His figure indicates an increase of 75 per cent from the 20,000 Iraqi Christians who were said to have moved to Syria in 2004, the year after US-led forces invaded Iraq and began the conflict.

One Iraqi Christian refugee, Bassam Najjari, 29, said he arrived in Syria last month, 40 days after gunmen shot and injured him in Baghdad as police looked on. "I decided to leave Baghdad with my family," said Najjari, who is staying on the outskirts of Damascus with his parents and brothers.

His brother, Wissam, said he plans to start his own business in Syria.

"There is no hope of going back home as the security situation is very bad and there is no indication that it would get better soon," Wissam said.

"We want to live in safety. We don't want to be killed. We love life," said another Christian refugee, Saddallah Mardini, 43. He said US forces should leave Iraq now. "The occupation has brought destruction."

His wife, Rana, 25, complained of shortages of electricity and water in Iraq. "My kids go to school now [in Syria], which is something they were deprived of in Iraq," she said.

Syria's relaxed visa rules for Arabs, as well as its border and cultural proximity to Iraq, have attracted thousands of Iraqi refugees, Muslims as well as Christians. But a disproportionate number of the refugees is Christian.

The violence in Iraq has hit Christians as it has targeted Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Seven Christians were killed in 2004 when suspected militants set off bombs in five churches in Baghdad and Mosul. It was the first major assault on Iraq's Christians since Saddam Hussain's regime was toppled in April 2003.

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the iraqi christians hate the syrian regime;they have no other borders than jordan,syria or turkey,their purpose in syria is a visa for a western country.
In north syria ,in which the christians are close to the iraqi christianity ,from 1970 to 2006,most of the christian families have left Syria.
we are from from the 1950's and 1960's when the syrian christian community was important and very powerful and influencal.

the iraqi christians hate the syrian regime;they have no other borders than jordan,syria or turkey,their purpose in syria is a visa for a western country.
In north syria ,in which the christians are close to the iraqi christianity ,from 1970 to 2006,most of the christian families have left Syria.
we are far from the 1950's and 1960's when the syrian christian community was important and very powerful and influencal.

Anon,you are wrong Syria,s Christian are still in Syria ,in Homs Damas,Hama and Aleppo and Latakia,the christians who left Aljazeera did so because of the Kurds who came from Iraq.

Anon you are mistaken...the Christians are growing in Syria. The Vatican has requested that the Christians not be allowed visas out of Syria...they don't want to lose control of the Chritian Holy places in the Middle East. Estimates of the number of Christians in Syria are 2.8-3.0 Million people...Not BaD!

ok damascus ,hama,aleppo.....u said


in aleppo my city ,which has the largest christian population in the middle east ,they were 25% of the city in 1970 and today are less than 5% so plz be honnest...as for damascus ,it's may be better because ,but it's a wrong picture ,because the christians of the villages around homs ,hama are leaving to damascus then from damascus to the usa or canada....

Estimates of the number of Christians in Syria are 2.8-3.0 Million people...Not BaD!

I have read in assyrian sites that they are 6OO 000 in syria and 3 millions in Iraq....in reality they are 30 000 in Syria and 500 000 in Iraq

If u believe the kurds who say that we are 20 % of syria and the christian 20% ,the alawites 15% ,the druzes 5%....so what does represent the arab moslems in Syria?

be realistic.

norman ,most of the christians who are living today in aleppo ,are sons of refugies from turkey and iraq;they moved from tur abidin and east turkey to jazeera then to aleppo,most of the traditional aleppine christian community have left to venezuela ,the usa ,europe and canada....few aleppine christian families remained in the city.

left to venezuela ,the usa ,europe and canada ....and lebanon of course...

the Arab moslems are only Christians became muslem to avoid paying taxes and JEZIA.I look for a day were Syrian Arabs are that Syrian Arabs not Christians ,Moslems or any other ethnic or religous groups ,this peice started to show that Syria is the most hospitable state in the midleast with open borders to Arab christians and moslems and to non Arabs like Armenians and Kurds and still till now there not enough gratidude to what the Syrian people did taking in the Armenians and the Christian Syrian Orthodox from Turkey to protecting the Lebanes during the civel war and the resent war with Israel ,more than 500,000 Iraqies are in Syria treated as Syrians their kids go to school for free they get health care that Syria can afford for free ,no gratidude from anybody and and Syria will do that again and again just because Syria and it,s people are jenerous and real Arabs.