Country: Iraq

Group: Chaldeans

Date Finalized: 9/28/2021

Team: Ann Thomas (lead), Amanda Nelson, Lacey Hurst, Nuri Son, Lauren Poklar

Content Warning: religious persecution; targeted violence

Approximate Time Period: 2003-present

There is substantial evidence that the Chaldean minority have experienced forced displacement in Iraq. The data quality is rated a 2/3.

The Chaldeans are Assyrian followers of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Under the dictator, Saddam Hussein, Christians in Iraq had near equal rights and protection, but chaos followed when a U.S.-led coalition overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003 (The Associated Press, 2021). Ensuing religious persecution by Sunni militants, including abductions and church bombings, led to approximately 60,000 Chaldeans fleeing Iraq in the first years after the fall of Saddam’s regime (BBC News, 2008; Minority Rights Group, 2021).  Chaldeans fled persecution again in 2010, primarily after the attacks by al Qaeda on October 31, 2010, in central Baghdad (Chulov, 2010). At least 1,000 Chaldean families fled Iraq or Kurdistan, while 133 families escaped to Syria, and 450 families fled to Beirut. Over 100 Chaldeans escaped to Jordan as well. There was a 213% increase in Chaldeans fleeing Iraq after the terrorist attack in October 2010. Hundreds of thousands of Chaldeans had fled Iraq by 2012, with approximately 20,000 fleeing to Europe and the United States via Lebanon.  In 2014, ISIS seized the city of Mosul, Iraq forcing thousands of Christians to flee and take refuge in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region or other countries (The Associated Press     , 2021). 

Chaldean refugees still face discrimination in their areas of resettlement. Chaldeans remaining in Iraq continue to face persecution, continued discrimination, and violence (Minority Rights Group, 2021).

Sources

  1. BBC News. “Who are the Chaldean Christians?”. March 13, 2008.
  2. AP News. A timeline of disaster and displacement for Iraqi Christians. (2021, April 20). https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-islamic-state-group-saddam-hussein-baghdad-iraq-296b5588995cf7be62b49619bf1a7bb6
  3. Chulov, M. (2010, December 23). Christian exodus from Iraq gathers pace. The Guardian. Retrieved September 21, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/23/iraq-christian-exodus-christmas
  4. Chulov, M. (2010, December 17). Iraqi Christians flee Baghdad after Cathedral Massacre. The Guardian. Retrieved September 21, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/17/iraq-christians-flee-baghdad-cathedral
  5. Minority Rights Group. (2021, February 6). Chaldeans. Minority Rights Group. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/chaldeans/