We, the members of the Mandaean community in the United States of America and their friends, are asking our government to take the moral, legal and historic responsibility to save the Iraqi Mandaean refugees in Syria and Jordan. More than 90% of them fled Iraq for good. Our hope is to resettle them in America as a persecuted group in order to save the future culture, traditions, and faith of the Mandaean community.
Without the help of our government, the Mandaean people, who are without a country, and protection cannot defend themselves are headed towards annihilation.
Mandaeans are considered the smallest and most vulnerable ethno-religious minority in Iraq and Iran. We number fewer than 60,000 people in the world, scattered around the globe as a result of our intervention in Iraq. We follow the teachings of John the Baptist and practice baptism in flowing water as our central ritual. Our teachings expressly forbid us from carrying weapons, even for self-defense. Instead, the Ginza Raba, the chief Mandaean holy book, teaches us to oppose injustice bravely with words and knowledge, not iron. We therefore live our lives solely by peaceful means.
