The gift and the dream of 18 young women from Iraq
A chasuble sewn with the scraps of fabric from their small tailoring workshop was given to Pope Francis, that he may wear it in one of his celebrations, in Krakow in particular, during July’s WYD. It’s the gift of 18 Iraqi women who took refuge in Amman, Jordan, after their flight from Mosul caused by ISIS. Their dream is to be present in Krakow to receive the Pope’s blessing. But visa problems make it impossible. Their hopes are reposed in Francis… “Only you can help us”, they wrote in a letter which they signed: “your daughters.”
A chasuble “made by Iraqi girls”, created with disposed scraps of fabric from their small tailoring workshop was given to Pope Francis with the hope that he may wear it in one of his celebrations, especially in Krakow during the WYD in July. It was sewn by 18 Iraqi women of Christian faith, many of them from Mosul, sheltered in Amman, Jordan, after having been forced to flee from the Islamic State.
Young women “deserted by vicious men, ISIS, who expelled us from our homeland. We were forced to leave our Country not knowing what would be of our future or what to expect. Our lives were exposed to danger”they wrote in a heartbreaking letter to the Pope – signed: “your daughters…” – to accompany their gift, fruit of their hard work. “We had to save our lives. This was the only option. ISIS gave Christians three possibilities: renounce our faith and convert to Islam; pay a tax to stay, or die.
We left all of our belongings to save our life and our faith. We decided to follow the Christ in whom we believe, who never abandoned us and gave us the strength to endure difficulties until we reached Jordan.”
Today, in the Hashemite Kingdom the young women said they are “safer” but with no rights because “we are refugees.” We have no working permits, we cannot continue our studies because Jordan’s Ministry of Education does not recognize Iraq’s university system. “But the mercy of God is great”, they wrote in the letter to the Pope describing their tailoring workshop on the initiative of an Italian priest, Father Mario Cornioli, from the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, in the front line of reception and support to Iraqi and Syrian refugees in Amman for many years, in conjunction with the Apostolic Nunciature of Iraq and Jordan, the Chaldean Church, Fr Zaid Habbaba and his assitant Nameer Anton, the Salesian nuns of the Jordan capital and several Italian volunteers. The latter taught young Iraqi women to cut and sew traditional colourful oriental textiles. This project, called “Rafidin”, or “two rivers”, a term commonly used to refer to the Tigris and Euphrates, the two rivers in Iraq, led to the creation of a small atelier and designer label, “Made by Iraqi girls”, clearly visible on each garment in which stand out the colours of Iraq. Skirts, gowns, small jackets and creatively designed sweaters made after having discovered their tailoring skills. The items of clothing promoted on social networks are achieving great success thanks to the combination of colours and patterns typical of the Middle Eastern tradition with Western design. They work to sew together the fragments of hope destroyed by the violence of war and the Islamic state, to return to live and to dream of a peaceful future.
In this workshop they sewed together the scraps of fabric and created the chasuble donated to Pope Francis. It’s a simple way to thank the Pope for his witness and to make him a last request: “we hope to meet you in Krakow during the WYD to receive your blessing.”Their dream risks being thwarted by an even greater obstable: “we are refugees in Jordan and if we leave the Country we won’t have a visa to return to Jordan. Holy Father, only you can help us”, they wrote in their letter.
Also leftover scraps can serve to create a beautiful, useful object to glorify God”
and perhaps make a dream come true. Krakow is waiting…
