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"A First Step"

Wolfgang Huber on the Decision to Resettle Iraqi Refugees

November 28, 2008

Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), in his sermon on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Protestant relief campaign  "Brot für die Welt" on Sunday, 30 November, in Berlin's Heilig Kreuz Church, included a message concerning the decision by European interior ministers to accept a contingent of Iraqi refugees. Below is an excerpt from that sermon:

Last Thursday, European interior ministers endorsed the resettlement in Europe of a contingent of Iraqi refugees.   This decision was prompted by an alarming report by a group of EU experts describing the situation in refugee camps in Syria and Jordan, where around 2 million Iraqi refugees currently live. The situation of these refugees continues to worsen. Their savings are exhausted and they have no work permits. For some of them, there is little chance they will be able to return home to Iraq in the foreseeable future.  In Mosul alone, Iraq's third largest city, thousands of Christians only a few weeks ago fled their homes, fearing for their lives. There are clear indications that in Mosul an outright campaign of killings and an orchestrated campaign of expulsions directed against Christians are being carried out. Although the security situation in this northern Iraqi town seems to have improved, I am still deeply concerned. The European Union has now decided to take in up to 10,000 refugees in particularly vulnerable situations-Germany, for its part, is ready to accept around 2,500 of them. In view of the number of refugees-the EU report says that there are over 65,000 especially vulnerable persons, a figure which is steadily increasing-we welcome this decision as a first step.  My special gratitude goes to the German minister of the interior for his great perseverance in dealing with this crucial issue. We as church know we have a constant obligation to stand up for these oppressed brothers and sisters.

Hanover, 28 November 2008

Press Office of the EKD
Silke Römhild