London should not bow to the terrorism hiding away in our homes
Baghdad (AsiaNews) Mgr Shlemon Warduni, Auxiliary Chaldean Bishop of Baghdad, joined the many voices throughout the world that condemned yesterday's attacks in London. "From the bottom of our hearts, as a Church and as Christians, we condemn with every ounce of our strength these terrorist acts," he said in an interview with AsiaNews.
"The direct experience by Iraq and its population, which is exposed to terrorism every day, means that no one can be happy about the presence of terrorists anywhere in the world," Bishop Warduni said.
"There is too much of this evil called terrorism in our lives, and this is the worst evil because it targets the innocent, people who only want to lead ordinary lives," he explained.
The prelate urged the world "not to just condemn terrorism but cooperate so that [it] doesn't spread and that those responsible are unmasked."
"Every nation must be committed to finding these people, this vermin, this dangerous disease for the world," he said, "as demonstrated by the abduction and possible murder of Ihab al Sharif, Egypt's Ambassador to Baghdad".
The London attacks must not weaken the resolve of the population. "Sadly, we are well aware of the psychological mechanism of terrorism. When we leave home, we are never certain whether we'll come back safe and sound, and yet we cannot prostrate ourselves and surrender to threats".
"As a Christian community, we can do little in practical terms," Bishop Warduni added, "because we are not very strong, but we are always ready to pray that the Lord might enlighten the world."
The West must react by understanding that terrorism "is like a thief hiding away in one's home that is difficult to smoke out".
"Good will and international and domestic cooperation among governments are the only path to effectively fight terrorism. There is no need to use military force the wrong way; all that is needed is cooperation and internal dialogue to stop these people," he noted.
Cooperation has failed to stop attacks in Iraq though "because it seems that in Iraq terrorism has been imported".
"We are very scared and must speak with caution because our borders are almost open to everyone. But we are praying that the Lord might enlighten us," he explained.
Speaking to AsiaNews from Mosul, scene of daily attacks, Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho expressed his solidarity and understanding.
Talking about the victims, he said: "I feel very close to these people and deep down understand what they are going through because what they experienced yesterday we experience every day."
In Archbishop Rahho's opinion, these terrible deeds are a "warning and clarion call for those who lead the world's nations that they may review their policies and interests in order to find new ways to collaborate."
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