Monday, September 24, 2007

The Iraqi Christians of Falluja

My fellow Iraqi blogger Dr. Najeeb Hanoudi recently wrote an article about his Iraqi Christian friends from Falluja. Did you raise an eyebrow? I bet you did since most non-Iraqis are clueless about the fabric of the Iraqi society.

Dr. Hanoudi mentioned in his article that there were three Iraqi Christian families who lived in Falluja before 2004. One family were his friends, the Tomas family. My dear Dr. Hanoudi is unaware I'm related to one of the other two Iraqi Christian families who lived in Falluja for many years.

My first cousin and her family lived in Falluja since the 80s. My cousin's husband, an eye specialist, was a doctor at Falluja's hospital. He also had his own private clinic, which was well known in the city. Like the Tomas family, he was very well respected by the locals.

My cousin and her family fled Falluja in 2004 when all hell broke in the city. They finally moved to Australia two years ago. Like many doctors who immigrate to Australia, he needs to pass many exams and requirements before he can practice his profession. He's in his late 50s. He should be ready to retire and enjoy life with his wife. As it is, he has to rebuild his life from scratch.

The biggest losers of the war in Iraq are the most educated Iraqis.

No comments: