This email contains today’s Daily Communiqu © from Barnabas Fund’s website. Recent communiqu ©s have covered the following subjects:

Some Muslim responses to Hizbullah. Christian suffering in Iraq. Ongoing sectarian cleansing in Iraq.

To see these communiqu ©s click this link http://www.barnabasfund.org/archivenews/country.php?news_country=DAILY%20COMMUNIQUE

Displaced Christians in the Middle East —————————————

The current conflict in Lebanon has caused almost a quarter of the Lebanese population to relocate, some within their own country, others to Syria and Jordan. The Lebanese refugees are in addition to hundreds of thousands of other displaced people, who have already fled other arenas of conflict in the Middle East. This communiqu © focuses on Christians displaced in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the West Bank, estimated to number between 550,000 and 750,000.

Estimated statistics

Approximate figures for the number of Christian refugees are as follows, beginning with those displaced by the conflict in Lebanon which began on 12th July.

* Lebanese Christians who have fled to other parts of Lebanon – 50,000 * Lebanese Christians who have fled to Syria – 33,000 * Lebanese Christians who have fled to Jordan – 30,000

Total Lebanese Christian refugees – 113,000

In addition there were an estimated 80,000 – 100,000 Filipino, Sri Lankan and other “third country nationals” working in south Lebanon, many of whom were Christians. It is believed that most have left. Some Filipinos are known to have reached Syria, but the whereabouts of the majority is unknown.

In the last few weeks many Arab Israelis, including Christians, have fled northern Israel to seek safety elsewhere. Hundreds have gone to the West Bank e.g. Bethlehem and Jericho. Others have moved via Jordan to Syria. According to an agreement made between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Syrian government, up to 100,000 Palestinians will be allowed to move to Syria. (According to some estimates, 10% of the 1.4 million Arabs who live in Israel are Christians, but it is expected that those who move to Syria will include a higher percentage of Christians.)

Large numbers of Iraqi Christians have fled their country since the Gulf War (1990-91). The war which deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003 led to another surge in Christians leaving, and the increasingly ferocious anti-Christian rhetoric and violence since then have ensured that the flow of Christians out of Iraq continues.

Total of Iraqi Christians who have moved to Syria since 2003 – 190,000 The vast majority of these have arrived in the last year and settled as follows: Aleppo area (mainly from Mosul) – 60,000 Damascus area (mainly from Baghdad) – 120,000

Iraqi Christians who have moved to Jordan since 1991 – 195,000. Of these 45,000 have arrived in 2006.

The number of Iraqi Christians still in Iraq may now be little more than 200,000. This compares with an estimated 1,500,000 before 1990. Many of these 200,000 are themselves internally displaced, having fled to northern Iraq from Baghdad and other parts of the country.

Thus there must be between 550,000 and 750,000 displaced Christians in the Middle East at present.

The needs of the refugees

The needs of the refugees vary from one location to another and are becoming more acute as time passes. Most of the Lebanese Christians displaced within Lebanon are at present staying with other Christian families in their homes. But this situation will not be viable if the war continues long-term.

Jordan has begun to refuse entry to Iraqi men between the ages of 18 and 35. The latest refugees therefore are primarily women, children and older men. Families without a man to protect them are very vulnerable in Middle Eastern society, and the women have limited ways in which to try to support their children and elderly dependents. Another new rule in Jordan forbids Iraqi children from studying in the government schools. This means that they can only study in private schools, which are unaffordable for many refugees.

In Syria there is more need among the Iraqi Christians in Damascus than amongst those in Aleppo. But some Iraqi Christians have even begun to establish church buildings, with permission from the Syrian government.

The third country nationals are probably the most vulnerable of all the refugees from the Lebanon conflict. Filipinos, for example, do not expect any help from the Filipino government, nor from the Lebanese families who formerly employed them as domestic servants. Many people have lost their documents in the destruction and chaos of the current war. While Syria has allowed in thousands of Lebanese without ID, it is refusing entry to Filipinos and other third country nationals unless they are carrying valid ID documents. Three Ethiopian women somehow made their way from Lebanon to Cyprus. Two were allowed in because they had onward air tickets, but the third was deported back to Lebanon; Cypriot officials failed to inform her that she could have applied for political asylum on the basis that she had come from war-torn Lebanon.

Many of the refugees are in need of life’s most basic requirements: shelter, food and clothing. Some also have specific medical needs, either war injuries or ongoing medical conditions needing treatment. (Many Iraqi refugees in both Jordan and Syria have cancer.) Some need trauma counselling, especially children who have seen the bombing in Lebanon and now cannot sleep.

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