Iraqi war survivor visits Mestalla
At the beginning of January, during the week of the match against Real Madrid CF, two Valencia CF fans were able to meet the squad and accompany the players at Mestalla. In 2017, Abboud Salaam lost his home and his family disappeared under bombing in Iraq. He was left alone and seriously injured. Manhal Al-Qaisi came to rescue him and care for him. In the …
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'Believe in Love' - Christmas voices from Bethlehem
Bethlehem artist Lina Sleibi, together with London musicians, have released a Christmas 2024 song of hope from the town where Jesus was born over 2,000 years ago. Like last year, no festive lights and fancy decorations will illuminate the night skies of the Holy Land this Christmas. In response to this, Lina Sleibi with Cherrie Anderson from Ooberfuse, insi…
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King attends Advent service celebrating faith communities
King Charles III attended a special Advent service on Tuesday at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street in Mayfair, London, co-hosted by the 175-year-old Jesuit parish and Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) . The service celebrated the courage and perseverance of Christian communities and reflected on the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Mos…
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Yazidis displaced amid security escalation in Aleppo
Hundreds of Yazidi families have fled their homes in several areas of Aleppo, Syria, following recent developments and the takeover of the city by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), activist Jaber Jando said on Sunday. Jando told Shafaq News that more than 350 Yazidi families have been displaced from areas including Shahba, Tal Rifaat, Sheikh Maqsoud, and Ashrafi…
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The end of Syria’s Christian community
Are we witnessing the end of Christianity and the church in Syria? Will the UK, countries across Europe and the USA open their doors to Christians fleeing jihadi violence? These are questions that no one has yet answered. After experiencing extremist violence for over a decade, an international Catholic charity is rushing to the help of Christians sufferin…
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“This is the end of the great history of Christians in Aleppo”
“We are really tired. We are really exhausted, and we are also finished, in every sense”. Father Jacques’ words to Gianni Valente, as always, resonate with his faith and his story. Jacques Mourad, a monk of the monastic community of Deir Mar Musa, has been the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs since March 3, 2023, the city where refugees from Aleppo, whic…
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Belgium investigates suspects tied to Yazidi Genocide
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office currently has 13 open cases involving Belgian suspects accused of participating in the genocide of Yazidis. Attacks were carried out by the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) in northern Iraq in 2014. This information was confirmed by minister of justice Paul Van Tigchelt in a statement to Sudinfo on Friday …
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For Yazidis, a long road back from Islamic State
Ten years after the Islamic State launched a bloody assault on Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority, hundreds remain missing. On this podcast, Reuters Iraq Bureau Chief Timour Azhari travels through the regions destroyed by ISIS, and speaks with the Yazidis still trying to find their missing loved ones, and bring them home.
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Heart-wrenching tales from ISIS prisons shared in virtual museum
Muhammad al-Attar, an Iraqi religious scholar, remembers the darkness of his captivity in 2014 under the Islamic State (IS) group. Arrested at his Mosul perfume shop and imprisoned for rejecting allegiance to the extremists, Attar hid his tears beneath a prison blanket to avoid unsettling the younger detainees around him. As Kurdistan 24 reports, “They wou…
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How to help veterans get off Britain’s streets
While we welcome Sir Keir Starmer’s promise to give all military veterans a “guaranteed” roof over their heads, it was wise of Help for Heroes to say; “we must all be mindful that homelessness is rarely an issue that occurs in isolation”. With a mindful look at the issues involved, this brings in employment, debt, physical and mental health, education and …
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Have you heard the story of An American Mosque?
Watching the 2013 documentary 'An American Mosque ', you could easily feel the presence of John Steinbeck quietly whispering; “I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you.” With land donated, California's farm laborer's built their first Mosque but when the Islamic Center of Yuba City was burned to the ground in 1994, it was…
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Meet Bobby Body, the US veteran going for gold in Paris
With a name like Bobby Body, weightlifting was destined to be in his future. But he has carried plenty of weight from his service and injury in the Marine Corps before joining the National Guard and serving in Iraq. Body has not had an easy road to Paris representing Team USA in the Paralympic Games. Abandoned by his mother when he was five, he and his si…
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Reflections on the healthcare needs of veterans
Paul Swain, a British armed forces veteran, explains why it is vital that the military community access healthcare and how he’s received help from the OpRESTORE service run by former armed forces clinicians at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. Tell us a little about your military background. I joined the Army when I was 17, following …
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Reflections on Native American experiences of military service
Service to one’s land and community is deeply ingrained in Native American culture, and this is evident in their distinguished history of military service explains Helen Oliff of Partnership with Native Americans . Native Americans have the highest rate of military service of any people in the U.S. What’s more, Native American veterans joined in for ever…
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Out of the ashes. Defeating wars legacy and chasing the Paralympic dream
There are less than 100 days until the start of the Paris Paralympics , an event that showcases some of the toughest sportsmen and women in the world. But it was only after WW2 that it was widely introduced. The purpose of it at that time was to assist veterans who had been injured during the war. On 29/7/1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the Lo…
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Reflections on Arab American military experiences
A 1924 study by Princeton professor Philip Hitti found that 13,965 Arab Americans served during World War I . It is estimated as many as 15,000 served during World War II. Countless others served during the Korean conflict and Vietnam War – and most recently in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. US Marine and translator Rajai Hakki, a Syrian American bo…
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In a modern world, a fresh approach to care is needed
The most recent census data indicates there are 5.7 million unpaid carers across the UK, which represents around 9% of the population. However, a Carers UK 2022 research report estimated that the number of unpaid carers could be as high as 10.6 million people. As Dentons Law firm explain, the term “working carers” refers to employees who have caring respo…
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People in Manchester rally to save lives at sea
On Saturday, members of the RNLI's City of Manchester branch took to the cobbles of the city centre for a street collection and thanks to the incredible generosity of the public, they raised an amazing £2150.00! Throughout the day, people donated spare change and plenty of conversations were also had with young people, RNLI crew members from across th…
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Combat Stress keep fighting for mental health care 104 years on
It’s amazing to think, that 2023 marks 104 years since Combat Stress , the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health was founded, back on the 12th May, 1919. Their original name was the Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare Society and they opened their first “recuperative home” in 1920 on Putney Hill in South West London, for those suffering Shell-Shock from WW1…
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World War II veteran Peter Essa carried his wound for 78 years
Private First Class Peter Essa, a Chaldean American and World War II veteran, seemed to have unknowingly carried a piece of World War II with him for the last 78 years. Wooden fragments from the bullet he was shot with in the invasion of Normandy were found in his ankle two months ago after he visited a doctor because of a swollen ankle. Essa was drafted i…
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