To: Secretary of State John Kerry & Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt, Acting Administrator at USAID
Subject: Help Support & Protect Christians in the Middle East

Dear Secretary Kerry and Ambassador Lenhardt,

The crisis in Syria and Iraq appears intractable. But we know that it will one day end. And right now you have the power to make a significant difference to all those affected by the crisis.

We, the undersigned, urge you in the strongest terms to defend and promote ethnic and religious diversity in the Middle East through the increased provision and flexibility of humanitarian aid, and a firm, long-term political response in order to ensure stability and prosperity in the region. By so doing, you will give an uprooted and devastated Christian community a new hope for a future in their homelands.

We respectfully ask that you do everything possible to implement the below requests, which we present after direct consultation with Syrian and Iraqi Christians.

USAID Administrator:

1. Aid: Despite great generosity, international aid programs are drastically underfunded, leaving people without food and in hopeless situations. We urge you to release further funding to humanitarian relief programs and to urge fellow governments to respond with increased generosity.
2. Flexibility: Frontline relief organizations in Syria and Iraq are often too small to access international funds. Please develop flexible funding mechanisms to enable local, front-line organizations to continue delivering vital assistance where most needed specifically in the areas of psycho-social care and community-building amongst the internally displaced.
3. Education: Many families choose not to settle in refugee or Internally Displaced Persons’ camps due to fear. Please do all you can to ensure that internationally funded education programs are also delivered to children living outside camp structures.
4. Dignity: We urge you to increasingly invest in socio-economic development projects and the provision of good quality housing among displaced communities, to restore people’s livelihoods and dignity, and to reintroduce the belief that those of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds have a future in the Middle East.

Secretary of State:

1. Sanctuary: Specific religious and ethnic groups are especially vulnerable in the current crisis and are increasingly asking for help. Please encourage the urgent, creative implementation of sanctuaries and temporary relocation initiatives for those in life-threatening situations, in close cooperation with the Iraqi and Lebanese governments.
2. Violence: ISIS and other extremist groups directly threaten the multi-ethnic and multi-religious fabric of Middle Eastern society. Therefore, please work with the international community to take firm action to ensure the ideological defeat of ISIS; to curb the continued influx of foreign fighters into Syria; and to suspend the provision of foreign weapons to all extremist groups.
3. Religion: Freedom of religion or belief contributes to greater peace and prosperity in society. We therefore call on you to encourage and incentivize Middle Eastern powers to create the environment for diversity of ethnicity and religion within their communities, as a central component of a long-term strategy to bring stability and prosperity to the Middle East.
4. Return: Displaced communities long to return to their homes. Please ensure that the restoration of villages and properties or the provision of compensation to those forced to flee is a key part of the international response to the crisis in Iraq and Syria.

Yours sincerely,