persecuted christians

The following article was supplied curtesy of Barnabas Fund. If you would like to read the full article please request this and I will give you the link to access this.

Under siege: Iraq’s Christians face struggle for survival
In regions afflicted by war, violence is only part of the problem that ordinary families face. Behind the bombs and bullets lies a second battle, the battle to make ends meet. In the second of a series of special reports, Barnabas Fund highlights how the war in Iraq is affecting the ability of Iraqi Christians to provide for themselves, their families, and their futures.
Dora, Baghdad: Yousef * swept the last of the day’s cuttings from the floor, leant the broom against the wall and looked at the clock. Soon he could close up his barber shop in this mixed Sunni – Shia neighbourhood and head home to his family. Through the small and dusty window the street scene outside was normal for this time of day: traders packing up; children playing noisily in the road. Dusk.
Minutes later Yousef would be lying on his back in a pool of blood and broken glass in his shop. The Sunni insurgents who attacked him left him beaten, one of his legs broken and his back badly damaged. It was a warning; in a salon not far from Ws, the proprietor lay dead.
Christian workers targeted
Yousef’s only ‘crime’ was running his business - cutting hair and trimming beards. One of the motives behind the attack was to stop him from working. The Sunni group that attacked Yousef want to drive the Christians and Shia out of Dora. One way they can do this is to stop them from being able to work to support themselves and their families

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