A quiet but steady hemorrhaging of Iraq's ancient Christian presence is underway and little is being done to stem the flow. Written threats, kidnappings, bombings and murder by Muslim extremists are driving thousands of Iraq's minority Christian population out of their ancestral homeland, fleeing for safety to neighboring Jordan and Syria.

"The Christians are experiencing an absence of leadership," explained Hala Hikmat, a recent arrival from Baghdad who has joined thousands of her countrymen in Syria. "We have no leaders who are communicating our urgent needs to the authorities, so consequently each person has to take care of themselves." Their urgent needs, as expressed by Hikmat, are for protection and for a stand to be taken on Christians' behalf.

A string of church bombings in August and September sent anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 Christians fleeing the country, according to estimates by Iraqi government and church officials. And they admit that hundreds more families out of Iraq's 750,000 Christians are leaving each week.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) disputes these figures, saying they are too high. But UNHCR offices in Amman and Damascus admit that it is hard to know exactly how many Iraqi Christians are currently in Jordan and Syria.

Christians Comprise Half of the Refugee Families Registered in Syria

Of the 4,000 Iraqi families officially registered as refugees with the agency in Damascus, more than half are Christians. It is believed that there are larger numbers of Iraqis in Syria because it is cheaper to live there than in Jordan. Iraqi Christians also said they have stronger cultural and spiritual ties to Syria. Syrian authorities estimate there are about 300,000 Iraqis in the country.

"The Syrian government has been extremely generous to the Iraqis," explained Abdelhamed El Ouali, UNHCR head in Damascus. "It has kept the borders open without political considerations. And it believes it has a sacred duty to allow Iraqis who need safety to stay as long as necessary. But I am afraid if the numbers continue to rise dramatically without any international assistance, the situation here could change," he warned.