The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an

emerging militant terrorist organisation, has

recently attacked the city of Mosul, Iraq, and
marked all Christian homes with the Arabic
letter 'N', which represent Nazarene (a term
meaning Christian in Arabic). ISIS has since
given all Christians the following options;

1. Convert to Islam
2. Pay a Religious Tax
3. Leave or be executed

Thousands have fled their homes and many
have been brutally murdered, raped,
kidnapped and robbed. Since the take-over in
Mosul, it is reported that ISIS has destroyed
and occupied 45 Christian institutions in
Mosul, many of which predate Islam and any
Muslim occupation of the region.


BRIEF HISTORY

The Assyrian/Syriac/Chaldean nation can trace their ethnic and cultural origins to the indigenous
population of ancient Mesopotamia, since before the time of the Akkadian Empire. They were one of
the first nations to entirely embrace Christianity and their Church originally developed in the first
century AD. They have suffered greatly over the centuries due to their faith in Christ.
In WWI the Assyrian Levies defended the British Allies from Ottoman and Kurdish troops and were
promised their own independent state however this promise was not kept. In 1932 the Arab
Kingdom of Iraq was established by the British subsequently leaving the Assyrians, Chaldeans and
Syriacs disinherited of their ancient homelands and subject to ongoing persecution. As a result of
this cleansing, the vast majority of Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs live in diaspora all over the
Middle East, Europe, America, and Australia.


PERSECUTION

Over the centuries the Assyrian Christians have been victims of much persecution, largely because of
their Christian faith and their historical right in their ancient homeland. It has been said that in the
last 1,400 years, there have been 33 genocides against the Assyrians, which averages to 1 every 45
years. There has been an ongoing genocide against the Assyrian Christians of Iraq, countless events
of which cannot all be mentioned, however the most significant and recent attacks have been
against children, women and the elderly, being put to the sword indiscriminately;


1. The 1840s Massacres of Badr Khan - The massacres resulted in the mass killing of more than
10,000 Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs and the captivity of thousands of others.

2. The 1915 - 1918 Ottoman Genocide - 20,000 Turkish soldiers and 10,000 Kurdish irregulars,
carried out a systematic genocide against the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire, resulting
in the mass murder of 750,000 Assyrians, 1,500,000 Armenians and 500,000 Greeks.

3. The 1933 Simele Massacre - The armed Arab forces, Arab and Kurdish tribes of modern day Iraq,
carried out a systematic killing of Christians resulting in the death of 3,000 Assyrians.

4. 2003 to present - Since the US led invasion of Iraq and removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the
Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs have once again become the innocent and defenceless targets of
Islamic fundamentalists, who have seized control of all of the previously (predominantly) Christian
areas. They have been caught defenceless in the crossfire between Sunni and Shia fighters whom the
government has failed to control, for the countless murders, kidnappings and ransoms, church
attacks, car bombings and rape. The situation has forced some 1,200,000 - 1,500,000 Assyrians to
flee Iraq since 2003.

DIRECTION FORWARD
For the Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs to preserve their ancient churches, language, ethnicity,
history and culture, they need to exist on the land of their own historical inheritance, whereby they
can govern and protect themselves, from other outside imposing forces.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

To help the Christians of Iraq and to see information on our current relief projects, please visit
www.theacero.org (Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation - ACERO)
You can make a generous donation via the www.theacero.org/mosulappeal
ACERO is a non-profit organisation and all donations will go towards those in need. For more
information on the ancient history, Church, persecution of the Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs in
recent and current circumstances visit: www.aina.org

M.A.D
The Make A Difference (M.A.D) organisation was formed by independent youth within the Assyrian
community. The aim of the organisation is to raise awareness for the plight of
Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs and also help with raising funds towards humanitarian aid. Recent
events in Mosul brought together the youth and M.A.D was formed in order to create an event 'The
Mosul Appeal Fundraiser'.
A large amount of funds were raised in a successful event. Following the fundraiser, the situation for
Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs in Mosul continued to worsen. Due to this reason, the M.A.D
organisation decided it was time for more drastic action and took the initiative in organising a
protest in Sydney to coincide with the Worldwide Protest movement of August 2
nd
2014.
For any Enquiries contact: MadMediaDept@Yahoo.com.au or MakeADifference2014@Outlook.com