“ISIS has a reputation for brutality, including summary executions, beheadings, and, in some cases, crucifixions”, said Rep. Bentivolio.
On June 18, 2014 Rep. Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for one minute regarding the situation in Iraq and the terrorist group ISIS:
“Mr. Speaker, the crisis unfolding in Iraq is deeply troubling to the American people. The rapid fall of several cities in Iraq to terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, has brought the militant group dangerously closer to establishing a caliphate that spans the northern sections of Syria and Iraq.
ISIS has a reputation for brutality, including summary executions, beheadings, and, in some cases, crucifixions. The implications of the rise of ISIS for Iraq’s ancient Christian community, along with its other religious minorities, is troubling.
For years we have witnessed the decline of Iraq’s Christian community. Thousands have fled in the face of targeted violence. Those who remained relocated to Mosul and the Nineveh plains. These areas were some of the last remaining havens for this beleaguered and brutalized Christian community in Iraq. In fact, Archbishop Warda, the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil, indicated this past Sunday that for the first time in 1,600 years there was no mass in Mosul.
The thousands who fled Mosul face displacement, imminent danger, and a growing humanitarian nightmare, including access to clean water, food, fuel, and electricity.
I urge the administration to engage with the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to prioritize security and support for these vulnerable populations and provide emergency humanitarian assistance to those brutalized communities.
If nothing is done, we will most certainly witness the annihilation of an ancient faith community. I call on our international community to stand together to protect the natural rights of being persecuted by ISIS”, said Bentivolio.
Source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/
See video: Shocking crucifixion in Syria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tDKp7ZRieY
Kerry Bentivolio, a Michigan native, has been making a difference in his community of Milford for nearly 30 years. Kerry’s background includes military service, business, automotive design, real estate, political activism, education, and community involvement. These experiences distinguish him as a balanced leader and creative problem solver.
After high school, Kerry enlisted into the U. S. Army, serving as an infantry rifleman in Vietnam.