US attorney and Christian activist Jennifer Breedon speaks to Rudaw. Photo: Rudaw video
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Jennifer Breedon, a US attorney and Christian activist who specializes in international and criminal law, says “anti-Kurdish voices” and intra-Christian “politics” prevents broader support for the plight of Christians in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Speaking to Rudaw’s Shahyan Tahseen, Breedon called for more international support for the Kurdistan Region, arguing it is safer for Christians than elsewhere in Iraq.
She lauded the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) treatment of the dwindling Christian minority, but believes among other issues international intra-Christian “politics” are undermining its efforts.
“The Catholic Church as we know is very involved in politics and so there are a lot of anti-Kurdish forces that aren’t just the main forces you think, but many anti-Kurdish forces who have lots of money — specifically some coming from the United States but from all over the world who are going to say certain things so would be afraid to take a stance because of political pressures,” she said.
Historically, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have been home to Christians who follow the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches.
“But a lot of this does come down to politics unfortunately, so that’s something I can hope to work out with some of my Christian brothers and sisters in the United States or in Europe as well to make sure facts come out so the truth can come out,” she added.
Recent humanitarian support from the United States and other countries often comes from predominately Evangelical (Protestant) non-governmental organizations. This was promoted when Vice President Mike Pence announced in 2018 that USAID funding would be permitted to go directly to faith-based NGOs.
Breedon was asked whether the US government and the American people misunderstand the situation of Christians in “northern Iraq” vs. what’s happening in the Kurdistan Region.
“Both and I can say this right now, we have a very good administration in the United States — again on the media you aren’t going to hear things — just as people in the United States aren’t hearing about the Kurdish people,” she replied.
“We have a very big problem with media in the United States right now. We went from 50 companies owning our media to now six,” she said. “And so you have to rely on the opinions of people. But we have an administration that wants to learn, that wants to know.”
Neither Pence, nor President Donald Trump have visited Iraq or the Kurdistan Region since taking office in 2017, where thousands of US forces are deployed as part of the international anti-ISIS coalition.
“Kurdistan has something here in all its ethnicities, minorities, protections, secular governance — everything is done for these people — Kurdistan has something the Trump administration and America wants to hear, we just need to make sure those voices bridge the gap,” said Breedon.
The last census in Iraq was in 1987, when 1.5 million Christians were counted.
Prior to ISIS, local groups estimate the Christian population stood at 400,000-600,000. Roughly half have left Iraq since 2014, and around 130,000 sought shelter in the Kurdistan Region.
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in January.
Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, was elevated to cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church in June in a bid to increase the number of cardinals in places where Christian populations are dwindling. Sako was born in 1948 in Zakho, a city in northwest Iraq, which is now a part of the Kurdistan Region.
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