Millions of Christians will spend Christmas being persecuted, and nobody cares – In Nagorno Karabakh, a territory where monasteries dating back to the first century symbolize the Christian essence of the region, in the past two years, the 130.000 inhabitants have been forced into a dramatic mass exodus. Yet their tragedy has remained deaf and unheard. This unfortunate silence reminds us how the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is part of the immense tragedy of persecuted Christian communities

A tragedy of which neither the persistence nor the number of victims is often remembered. According to the Holy See Foundation deputed to safeguard the freedom of religion, there are at least 360 million Christians worldwide who experience high levels of persecution and discrimination because of their faith. The victims are increasing year by year. In 2022 more than 5,200 Christians paid with their lives for their faith, at least as many were kidnapped and more than 4,500 were arrested or detained. While more than 2,000 churches and religious buildings have been burned or destroyed. Among the nations most reluctant to respect the freedom of religion are the world's most populous ones. From China to India, Pakistan to Bangladesh. The enormous amount of violations of freedom of faith is not matched by a commensurate awareness of Europe and the Western. In short, the Western world does not give a damn about religious freedoms. Even when those of our Christian brothers and sisters are at stake. Accepting the idea that one can die for not abjuring one's faith is something that clashes with the political and ideal relativism of our societies. To accept the idea that 120,000 Christians from the Nineveh Plain in Iraq have given up everything in order not to give up their identity and faith in Christ is to measure oneself against an idea of freedom of religion that the West no longer understands. We relegated the attention to freedom of religion to a lower level than more fashionable freedoms such as sexual freedom or gender freedom. And this is the most resounding mockery for the Christian who are often persecuted because they are considered close to the West. While, in reality, we in the West choose to ignore or forget them. The figures of the migratory flows from the shores of North Africa show how this persecution also has an impact on immigration. Looking at the top ten nationalities of migrants who landed in Italy this year, we discover that those from Burkina Faso have literally increased, from about 300 in 2022 to 8,410 this year. When Isis imposed itself in Syria and Iraq there was a reaction that united the West and our churches. And this allowed the disarticulation of the Caliphate. 

Today the drama in Burkina Faso is no different. Fifty percent of its territory is in the hands of micro-caliphates, and Christians are forced to flee for fear of this jihadist advance. In Mali and Chad it is not much different. Yet everyone in Europe seems to ignore it. This shortsightedness and indifference is paradoxical. Because even if we had decided not to care about the fleeing Christians, how can we ignore the fact that those who leave those lands eventually end up landing on our shores in Europe? 

But also astounding are the numbers of the Christian exodus from the Middle East. Iraq's Christians who exceeded 1.5 million in 2000 are now just over 150,000. In Syria the figures are similar. Of the 1.5 million Christians counted in 2010, about 500,000 remain after 12 years of civil and religious war. In the East it is no better. In India, 12 of 36 states have anti-conversion laws that punish with jail time and harsh economic penalties Hindus ready to convert to Christianity. In China, attempts at dialogue initiated by the Holy See have not eased the oppressive situation.