Press release

Iraq. Un Ponte Per: "From Pope Francis a message of courage and hope".

Rome, 3 March 2021 - "The visit of Pope Francis to the Plain of Nineveh, a place where Daesh has been guilty of horrific crimes against humanity, is extremely important. It is a particularly courageous choice, not only to stand by the Christian communities, which have historical roots here, but to launch an extraordinary message of hope, brotherhood and inter-community and inter-religious dialogue. It will be an encouragement not only for Iraq, but for the entire Middle East'.

These are the words of Alfio Nicotra and Angelica Romano, co-presidents of Un Ponte Per (UPP), an Italian organisation that has been present in Iraq for 30 years, and in particular in the Nineveh Plain, with peace building and social cohesion programmes active in each of the areas that the Holy Father will visit.

"Iraq is emerging with difficulty from almost four decades of war. The year 2021 will mark the sad anniversary of the First Gulf War, which our association tried to stop as part of the peace movement of the time, and which has left terrible and still present traces in Iraq,' Nicotra and Romano continue.

"That war, as well as the following ones, had the effect of exploding that multi-ethnic and multi-religious mosaic that had been Iraq's strength for millennia. They filled the wells of hatred, exacerbated ethnic contrasts, and strengthened religious fundamentalism. Daesh is a child of this situation and, even if defeated militarily, its influence remains alive,' they add.

"This is why it is particularly important that Pope Francis has chosen to visit those very lands that have paid the highest price for Daesh's occupation, with the persecutions inflicted on the Christian and Ezid communities, rooted for millennia in that territory," they stress.

Among the most important programmes of Un Ponte Per, concentrated precisely in the area of the Nineveh Plain, is that for social cohesion and peace building, through which the organisation supports reconciliation and dialogue between Iraqi ethnic-religious communities.

"Among the stops of Pope Francis that are most dear to us is the one planned in Qaraqosh on Sunday 7 March," Nicotra and Romano explain. "Here, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass. In that destroyed church we were among the first to return after the liberation of the area from Daesh, together with the communities returning to their homes. It was May 2017 and it was a very emotional moment. To see it come back to life together with the city and its people was beautiful," they recall.

UPP was in fact working in the area even before Daesh arrived. That is why, when it was liberated, it was the first to return together with the communities, distributing humanitarian aid and working on reconstruction. In recent years it has helped to rebuild schools, support anti-violence and health centres, build youth centres, and organise events to encourage inter-religious dialogue.

"This visit by Pope Francis will be greeted with great emotion by the Iraqi people. It will be a message of extraordinary courage and hope,' Nicotra and Romano conclude.