Some Christians in Iraq who feel like they were abandoned by the administration of outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama are clear with the outcome they want for Tuesday's U.S. presidential election: They hope Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would emerge the winner.
A short video posted on the Emtedaad al-Dawlah Facebook page, as shared by Breitbart, gives a glimpse of what this year's U.S. election means for the Christian residents of the recently liberated Iraqi town of Qaraqosh.
In the video, a priest lamented how Obama has "abandoned" the Christian minority in Iraq, and chose "not to get involved" despite the clear persecution of the faithful in the Muslim-dominated Middle Eastern nation.
"The suffering of the Iraqi people is a result of the wars and terrible decisions made by our political leaders in Iraq that have resulted in catastrophes for our nation and, in particular, the Christian minority," the priest said in the video.
"The U.S. government led by President Obama could have protected us – or at least helped us to protect ourselves," he added.
The video also showed a man from the village airing frustration over Obama's policies towards Iraq, and expressing hopes that Trump will change the course of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
"Obama has never helped the Christians. In fact, he despises them. In the last 26 months, he has shown he despises all of them. But we have hope in the new president, Trump," the man said.
Even a young Iraqi girl, who was shown in the video wearing a crucifix, was optimistic that "this new guy called Trump will help us more than Obama did."
For a young Kurdish soldier, however, whoever wins in the U.S. elections will help Qaraqosh—which used to have the biggest and oldest Christian population in Iraq—rise from the destruction caused by years of conflict.
"They burned and destroyed the church. Daesh fighters were a bunch of vandals," the soldier said. "Unfortunately by the time we got here, they had already burned the church, displaced the Christian people, and destroyed their houses – leaving those who remain without shelter. We thank God that we were able to help them take back their cities."
