Mosul - Fifty three-year-old Umm Farah, a mother of three,
had no choice but to flee from Mosul to Baghdad on a wintry night.
Like many others, she says, she was subject to death threats simply
because she is a Christian.
As the country heads into an election period widely hoped to
deliver stability and greater democratic representation, Iraq's
Christian community is barely emerging from a wave of sectarian
murder and intimidation.
Despite a reduction in violence in previously incendiary provinces
such as Anbar, Mosul had become a locus of al-Qaeda militant activity
by late 2008.
'Although Iraq's security had improved, we are still living
through brutal days. We have lost our safety and security forever,'
said Umm Farah.
Mosul is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the
world, the Chaldean. Between September and November of 2008, dozens
of Christians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul were murdered,
seemingly only because of their ethnic identity.
More than one million Christians are believed to have fled the
country since the US-led invasion of 2003, an event which has
unlocked unprecedented sectarian hatred in the region.
Against the violent backdrop, Iraqi Christians go into this
election period also in frustration at the machinations of Baghdad
politics.
Early drafts of the Provincial Election Law, passed in late 2008,
would have seen Christians and other minorities guaranteed greater
representation in the provincial councils, under Article 50 of the
text.
However, the element was removed by parliament through the
pressure of majority parties.
The UN Special Representative to Iraq, Staffan de Mistura,
appealed against the removal of Article 50, saying that it had been
an indication of 'a nation ready to protect the political rights of
minorities as founded in the constitution.'
In the event, the Iraqi parliament eventually voted to decrease
minority quotas in the councils, leaving Christian candidates with
three seats - one each in Mosul, Baghdad and Basra.
The compromise solution has not appeased the Christian population,
however.
'We are thousands in Mosul, we certainly deserve three seats in
our local council instead of one,' Tawfiq Saiid, a Christian
journalist, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
'We thought that political leaders would cure our wounds after
what we've been through in Mosul, but instead of compensating us they
decreased our representation in this country,' said Nada Khunda, a
Christian teacher.
Despite the blows they have suffered, Christians around Mosul say
they see the elections as the best way forward. Most say the troubles
of the last few months will not discourage them from participating in
the historic vote.
In this election, which employs a so-called open-list proportional
representation system, voters do have the opportunity to choose local
independent candidates, in contrast to previous systems which only
allowed the selection of a party, the candidates having been chosen
by those blocs themselves.
Expectations for Christian turnout in Mosul are accordingly high.
'I think that great numbers of Christians will turnout at the
elections, but decreasing the Christians' quota is stripping them of
their rights,' said Hanam Attallah, a university professor in Mosul.
'We will certainly vote in the coming elections. Our right to be
represented cannot be taken away,' said Nada Khunda.
However, while many Christians intend to participate, the fear
remains that the poll could in fact be used as a way to legitimize
their under-representation and marginalization.
'We are terrified. We wonder if our right as a minority is part of
Iraq's plan,' Khunda said.
In addition, the threat of election-day violence remains.
'It is difficult if not impossible for Christians to turn out at
ballots and vote freely in Mosul,' said a Christian merchant who,
having fled from the city, spoke to dpa on condition of anonymity.
Diaa Botros, secretary general of the National Chaldeo-Assyrian
Council, a Christian representative group, told dpa that movements
had been organized in Mosul to intimidate Christians so that they
would not vote. Others have tried to buy the Christian vote.
In face of the danger and frustrations, Christians like Umm Farah,
who fled from Mosul, still support the polls. Umm Farah, having fled
her home town, said 'I am not registered to vote in Baghdad, but my
sister and her husband are listed here. I will urge them to vote.'.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story