Refugees

Slovakia: new community center to “make iraqi christians feel at home” opens in Nitra

(Bratislava) – A new community center for Christian refugees from Iraq who had to leave their native country because of persecution by the Islamists has been recently opened at the premises of Caritas Nitra. “Our aim is to create a space and community to help Iraqi Christians in the process of integration into Slovak society, and at the same time to offer Slovaks an opportunity to get to know the Iraqi culture”, explain the employees of Caritas, emphasizing that the door of the center is widely open to the public. Msgr. Viliam Judak, bishop of Nitra, has blessed the new facility, stressing the need to “form good relations between the migrants and Slovak citizens”. The center starts its work on a daily basis in September, with a wide range of courses and lectures focusing on the improvement of the integration process. “We hope to provide a space for friendships and contacts; it will be possible to develop them while drinking a good coffee from Iraq and eating oriental specialties. By all means, we want two different ethnic cultures unite in one Christian culture”, say the representatives of the local office of Caritas.