Near Abraham’s Iraq birthplace, lone Christians put hope in Pope

Nasiriyah: As Pope Francis prayed for Iraq’s minorities yesterday from the birthplace of the common patriarch of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, one family listened particularly carefully.

Maher Tobia, 53, says his is the only remaining Christian family in the city of Nasiriyah, less than 20km from the desert site of the ancient city of Ur, where the Prophet Abraham is thought to have been born. Tobia and his brother head the only two remaining Christian households in Nasiriyah — and they were both extremely reluctant to share details of day-to-day life in the city,

where most residents are Shiites and tribal traditions often trump the law.

Over the past two years, violence at anti-government

protests in the city has left dozens dead, including six demonstrators who were shot dead in the weeks leading up to the Pope’s visit. There are no churches, which means Tobia has to travel to Baghdad or to the main southern city of Basra for the weddings or funerals of fellow Christians. But he is glad to talk about his family history. His father was born in Nasiriyah just before World War I to a businessman who had settled in the city when it was under Ottoman rule. Throughout the following decades — which brought World War II, the rise and fall of the Iraqi monarchy and finally the socialist Baath state led by Saddam Hussain — the Tobia family stayed in the city.

A truck driver has been arrested in the capital for reckless driving.

The Abu Dhabi Police said the driver had been arrested on three charges, namely failing to maintain sufficient distance from surrounding vehicles, incorrect overtaking, and failure to adhere to traffic signs.

The reckless driving behaviour led to confusion on the highways, the Police said in a statement.

In a video, the truck can be seen tailgating other vehicles amid foggy conditions, swerving and switching lanes, before it is finally chased and stopped by a police car.