Father Douglas Bazi of Iraq was once kidnapped by Islamists.
They used a hammer to break his teeth, his knees and his back. The torment only
ended when his Chaldean Christian church paid a ransom to win his release. But
he was forced to spend a year in bed, recovering from his injuries.
He is now working in a secure part of Iraq, in Ankawa, a
Christian suburb of Erbil, which is the capital of Kurdistan. Though just 50
miles from ISIS-controlled Mosul, the region is well protected and ISIS is not
deemed a threat.
He is in charge of a small church with a large garden. After
the trials of his past he should now be at peace. But he is not.
“My people are still struggling,” he told me in a Skype
interview. “I do not find peace.”
In fact, the sprawling church garden has become home to 120
caravans, most of them occupied by desperate refugees who were forced to flee
when ISIS launched its campaign of subjugation and genocide against Christian
towns. (Though when I refer to them as refugees Father Douglas gently tells me,
“I always call them my relatives, never refugees.”)
It is among the caravans that he has launched a new school, staffed
by volunteers and aimed at giving education – and hope - to some 200 youngsters,
and to their parents as well.
Several caravans are classrooms. One is a computer lab. There
is also a library. He wanted to take the children to the cinema, but it was
expensive. So he was able to acquire a large television set, and now another of
the caravans is a cinema.
“I want to give the children a future,” he said. “I want
them to be creative. We must not transfer our hatreds to them.”
His programs seem to be working. Youngsters who arrive angry
and aggressive have become happy, enthusiastic learners. Their parents – often
just as angry – have found a sense of community. Some have refused to leave the
caravans when given the chance to be resettled in apartments.
The students learn English, among other subjects, and Father
Bazi has a request.
“I need books,” he told me. “Especially picture books for
the younger children, but also books suitable for older children and adults.”
Rather than novels he would prefer collections of short stories, as well as
non-fiction titles with lots of illustrations.
If you feel you have suitable books that you could donate
please email Father Douglas at douglasbazi@gmail.com.
And if you are feeling especially adventurous, he also needs
English teachers for two or three weeks this summer.
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