March 23, 2006

Today, the Iraqi League (IL) was welcomed by Mosul’s Dominican Monastery. The visiting members of the IL, who are currently touring places of worship in Iraq, were deeply touched and immensely grateful to Sister Mary Sarah, the head of the Monastery, for the great hospitality with which she cordially received the visitors. She described to the IL the work of the Monastery in the Nineveh Province which goes back to hundreds of years.

Sister Mary is a distinguished and highly learned Iraqi with a great deal of wisdom and wide awareness of history and current affairs. Fluent in French, the smile never seems to depart from her face, but yet she vocalises her pain as she talks the IL about the US occupation of her beloved country Iraq. She says 'Iraq has never been through harder times, and has never seen a greater criminal than the US occupation which came to destroy a civilisation in its totality, basing its invasion on lies and deceit in order to justify its despicable crime. It’s the occupation’s deliberate policies that are directly responsible for the ugly sectarian and ethnic violence; it is trying to convey to the world the notion that Iraqis are unable to co-exist as brothers as has been for centuries. I cannot understand how some Iraqis are working with the occupation against their people and their country’.

Sister Mary then praised the wonderful continued support for the Monastery received from the local Muslim community.

'When the criminal US forces of occupation entered Mosul, our Muslim neighbours ran to protect the Monastery, and assured us that they will protect everyone as long as they live. This wonderful gesture had the greatest impact on all of us, and gave us great comfort and happiness in these difficult and hard times’.

Sister Mary also attacked vigorously those who are working tirelessly in the promotion of the sectarianism and ethnic violence. She said 'we have never known these ugly labels, and it is certainly foreign to our culture and our beloved Iraqi society. Iraq is well known for the brotherhood and mutual forgiveness amongst its people over its history. There is no doubt that there are sick people who are conniving, plotting and brain-washing people to push them into committing acts of utter stupidity which are foreign to the well-known Iraqi character and personality’.

The Monastery is run by a group of very dedicated nuns, who often go through a tough period of training and orientation before being accepted in the Monastery. The Monastery provides a number of social services in various areas, e.g. nursing, education and caring for the elderly.

Sister Mary described her happiness to the work being made by the IL; she also agreed to collaborate with the IL by releasing one of the Monastery’s nursing specialist nuns to participate in the forth-coming First-Aid training course being organised by the IL in Mosul.

The IL would like to thank the head of Mosul’s Dominican Monastery, Sister Mary Sarah, and the other resident nuns, for their great hospitality wonderful generosity.