"The dream of young Iraqi Christians would be to take part in the forthcoming WYD in Australia. A participation that would have great symbolic value". This is how in March 2007 father Rayan P. Atto, parish priest of the church of Mar Qardagh in Erbil, dreamt of the participation of young Iraqis in Sydney; now, over one year later but less than ten days from the start of the WYD, this dream has been shattered. Father Atto explained the reasons for that, in an interview on the Baghdadhope website: "last week, the Australian Embassy which we had contacted for the bureaucratic formalities to take part in the WYD told father Bashar Warda, our group leader, that the visas have been denied". According to the Chaldeian priest, "for fear that some member of the Iraqi delegation might not go back home and seek asylum in Australia". An ungrounded fear, states father Atto, because "for young Christian Iraqis taking part in the WYD in Sydney was not a way to leave their country. Most of the group members come from northern Iraq, a quiet area, they have no reason to escape and they would certainly not do it on an occasion related to faith". (continued)
