NICOSIA, CYPRUS [ANR] - After no communication with family and
friends in Baghdad for twelve days, an Iraqi worker at the
Seventh-day Adventist Church headquarters for the Middle East Region
(MEU) offices in Cyprus, received news that her sister's family, who
lives in the Al Mansour district of Baghdad, is safe and well. The
information was received at 10.30 am this morning from an email sent
from outside Iraq. Relatives of the MEU worker had just met with a
friend who had somehow found a way to escape war-torn Iraq and make
his way to another country. There, he met up with the MEU worker's
relatives and recounted seeing their family members, a few days
previously, in the home of the Iraq Field Legal Association chairman.
The information in the email was quite specific to that family and
did not mention anything further about other church members or church
properties.

An hour after the above information was received, some MEU workers
listening to the BBC World Service began to hear reports that the
fighting had subsided in Baghdad and that civilians had begun
emerging onto the streets. Homer Trecartin, MEU Secretary-Treasurer,
who was also monitoring the news, suggested to the Arabic-speaking
Union personnel that they should go to a nearby colleague's home and
monitor the Al Jazeera satellite channel for another perspective on
the BBC reports.

Among the ten people who watched the Al Jazeera channel, one of them
said, "People were out in the streets dancing and looting at the same
time! We watched pictures from a sector of Baghdad called, 'Saddam
City'. We could not see any Iraqi soldiers around. We observed
somebody stealing furniture from a government office."

While there is growing evidence that the major conflict might soon be
over, the Iraqi MEU workers are worried that the apparent lack of law
and order could spark off a fresh set of problems for the people.

[Alex Elmadjian/ANR]

CHURCH ELDER BORROWS CNN SATELLITE PHONE TO CALL DAUGHTER

BAGHDAD, IRAQ [ANR] - Persistent efforts by members of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iraq to contact their families, using
any means available to them, has succeeded. On Sunday 13 April,
Ghanem Fargo, elder of the Baghdad church and chairman of the
church's legal association, made a risky journey to the Palestine
Hotel, situated near the banks of the Tigris and about five minutes
drive from the Baghdad church. This is the hotel where many of the
world's media are based. There he came into contact with a CNN
reporter who kindly allowed Fargo to use the agency's satellite phone
to call his daughter in California. Unfortunately his daughter was
not at home so he only left a brief message on their answering
machine saying that all of them are doing well and still living in
their homes.

Another member, the father-in-law of Nabil Mansour, Middle East Union
editor of the Trans-European Division, travelled from Kerkuk (three
hours north of Baghdad) to the Kurdish controlled town of Arbeel. He
was eager to check on the well being of his son's family and to bring
them back to live in their family home until the situation improved.
While in the town, one of the Kurds allowed him to use a satellite
phone to call his daughter in Cyprus. He confirmed that the whole
family was safe.

While the main military campaign in Iraq seems to be over some
members of the Baghdad church, who managed to flee to Syria before
the conflict began, are now eager to return back in order to protect
their properties from the indiscriminate looting. Any hope of an
early return for them seems unlikely though since the Syria-Iraq
border is closed. Although the Jordanian border is currently unmanned
most people are not brave enough to attempt the journey since rumours
abound that armed gangs are hijacking vehicles. Coalition forces are
still patrolling and targeting various stretches of the main highway.

The communication situation remains the same with only television
reports providing semi-accurate information to the Iraqi members
working at the MEU office in Cyprus, regional headquarters for the
Church. If the TV sources are correct, electricity and water supplies
are supposed to be restored within a couple of days which will make
life much more bearable for the people.

On one Al-Jazeera report, a surgeon from Al-Kindy hospital in Baghdad
was interviewed for several minutes about his current working
conditions. "I watched him in disbelief," said a worker's spouse at
the MEU office. "I have known this person since we started high
school. He even helped us with some of our wedding arrangements! He
looked very discouraged as he related the stories of looting from the
hospital, alleging that the coalition forces had also taken some beds
for their wounded buddies."

There is evidence that the absence of law enforcement and
accountability has resulted in numerous arbitrary killings between
feuding individuals or tribes. This situation can, in particular,
adversely impact the minority Christian community who formerly
enjoyed freedom of worship in Iraq under the former government. There
is grave concern as to whether these privileges will remain
legislated.

[Alex Elmadjian/ANR]

IRAQ UPDATE: BAGHDAD CHURCH AND ADVENTIST HOMES SURVIVE BOMBINGS

NICOSIA, CYPRUS [ANR] - On Wednesday night, 16 April, the chairman of
the legal association of the Iraqi Seventh-day Adventist Church,
Ghanem Fargo, managed to gain access to a satellite phone once again
and call his daughter in California. She, in turn, emailed the
following message to the Middle East Union office in Cyprus.

"Yesterday, my father called. He said that all the family are doing
well. The church, the homes and the factories [owned by the Fargo and
Hasso families and providing employment for several Adventists]
survived the bombings. We are all doing well and urge you to keep
praying that this situation will be over soon. Things are getting
better, little by little."

Reacting to this comforting news, Homer Trecartin, MEU
Secretary-Treasurer said, "We rejoice with our Iraqi staff members in
this fantastic news and continue to pray for their well-being. As we
approach the Sabbath we are thankful to hear that the Baghdad church
is still intact and will be able to be used tomorrow, Sabbath,
provided the security situation allows the members to gather safely.
We appreciate the prayers and messages from the world church members
and would ask them to join with us in praying for our Iraqi members
tomorrow in their respective churches."

[Alex Elmadjian/ANR]