Germany will revise the procedures for the legal status of the Iraqi Christians residing in the country to help family reunions. This is the result of a meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with some Iraqi bishops, yesterday in Berlin. The news was relayed by the agency Aina, speaking of the Minister’s committing himself to help the Christian Iraqis. The bishops of Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk, states Aina, without mentioning the prelates’ names, explained that, "since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the conditions of the Christians have dramatically worsened. They are attacked by extremists and criminals", added the bishops, who are leaving no stones unturned to "avoid Christian migration". Some figures support such position: "From one million 400 thousand devotees residing in Iraq in 1987, now we have dropped to 350/400 thousand". Over the last two years, Germany has allocated 12 million US dollars in aids for the Iraqi refugees. However, the proposal that the Iraqi refugees of Christian faith should have priority in their asylum applications has raised a few objections in the country and within the EU, since this choice could means discriminating against refugees of other faiths or ethnic groups. Official estimates show that Iraqis are the largest group of asylum seekers.
