February 2017 Persecution Magazine (2 of 4)

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The entrance to a church ransacked by ISIS in Qeraqosh. their own vision of that uncertain future. Last October, the long anticipated operation to liberate Mosul and the other areas occupied by ISIS began. Christian militants among the IDPs participated in the operations that ultimately recaptured many of the homes and businesses formally seized by ISIS. “We attacked Qeraqsoh with the Iraqi army and Christian [militia] NPU,” Habib, a member of the Nineveh Plains Protection Units (NPU), told ICC. “ISIS didn’t put up much resistance and everyone thought that Qeraqosh had been recaptured.” “An experienced general commanded us to withdraw from part of Qeraqosh and saved many lives because ISIS started a heavy attack that night,” Habib said. “At 10:00 p.m., ISIS fighters started attacking from tunnels we discovered. These tunnels lead to Mosul. ISIS must have asked for support from Mosul and that’s why they didn’t resist at the beginning. The length of tunnel was 27 kilometers.” When the operation to liberate Mosul and the surrounding areas began, Christian militias insisted on participating in the fight, Habib explained to ICC. “After what happened in 2003, both the Shia and Sunni Muslims and even the Kurds created their own militias. The Christians didn’t though. They had neither the arms or the political vision. There was no Christian militia until ISIS devastated the Christian villages, and then the Christian militias formed,” Habib said. Early in the morning of May 3, 2016, ISIS fighters launched a heavy attack on Telskuf, a Christian village near Alqosh, where Habib and other Christian militias were stationed. Similar to other Christian villages in the Nineveh Plain, Telskuf residents had deserted the village in the summer of 2014 when ISIS swept through the region. In late 2014, ISIS forces withdrew from the village, which was recaptured by the Kurdish Peshmerga and, more recently, guarded by Christian militias. “We were able to prove ourselves as Christian forces when ISIS attacked Telskuf,” Habib told ICC. “I saw that Christian women were kidnapped and no one hurried to help. “Most Christian IDPs are completely dependent on the aid they get from churches and nonprofits.” – RABEA SORAN, IDP CAMP MANAGER IN ERBIL ISIS took everything and no one was able to push them back far from our families, region and belongings. That’s why I joined the Christian forces.” When asked about what the future holds for Iraq’s Christians, Habib explained that there is wide disagreement over what’s next. “Many say they will not go back without guarantees and restitution,” Habib said. “More than 60 percent of homes are destroyed and burnt. My parents had nine homes; seven of them are destroyed.” For Habib, who has already risked his life to push back ISIS, the future is much clearer. “As soon as the government provides clean water and electricity in Qeraqosh, I will be living there again,” Habib stated with confidence. “Most people will not be doing the same.” A Community Destroyed Weeks after Qeraqosh was secured in October 2016, many displaced Christians began visiting the area once considered Iraq’s largest Christian town. Curious to see what remained, many were devastated to discover that they had lost everything. From homes, to places of worship, to vehicles, everything in Qeraqosh has been marred by ISIS and the battle to drive them out. For many Christian IDPs, the prospect of 4 PERSECU ION.org FEBRUARY 2017 INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
“Our country is like this for Christians... It’s hard to live, it’s hard to leave and you don’t have any other comfortable choice.” – RAMI HEKMAT, CHRISTIAN RESIDENT OF QERAQOSH returning to these homes and trying to rebuild their communities in Iraq looks to be a daunting task. Furthermore, the Christian community of many villages will forever be changed by the fact that many Christians fled Iraq as refugees. “I am happy that my two brothers arrived in Germany with their families because they went through the sea,” Rami Hekmat, a 28-year-old Christian from Qeraqosh, told ICC. “But at the same time, life will not be the same if my family goes back to Qeraqosh. I used to work with my brothers for many years, but because of ISIS they left. Moving back to Qeraqosh will never be the same.” “Our country is like this for Christians,” Hekmat concluded to ICC. “It’s hard to live, it’s hard to leave and you don’t have any other comfortable choice.” An Uncertain Leadership Even among the Christian leadership of Iraq, there is uncertainty over what the future holds for their community. “Sure, we don’t want Christians to leave the country,” Archbishop Nicodemus, the Syriac-Orthodox Bishop of Mosul, told ICC. “Because immigration is another type of death. It’s an unknown fate.” “We want Christians to stay, but only if they are given dignity.” Nicodemus continued. “In many ways, we are strangers in our homeland. We are minorities in this country, we have been killed and we have been robbed here.” “No one is sure what the future for Christians in Iraq is,” Pastor Malath of Alliance International Church in Erbil simply told ICC. As Iraq’s Christians face this complex and uncertain future, ICC is committed to supporting this devastated community. To date, ICC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars providing relief for those displaced and affected by ISIS. Looking forward, ICC will remain committed to helping rebuild the Christian communities of northern Iraq. Whether it be rebuilding homes, repairing churches, or restarting businesses, ICC is prepared to stand as one body with these Christian brothers and sisters. PERSECU ION.org INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN Top: These Christians displaced by ISIS violence chose to live outside of IDP camps in a construction site that became an unofficial Christian IDP camp. Middle: ICC staff follows a member of the liberation militia into one of the many tunnels ISIS dug throughout Qeraqosh. Bottom: Shops and businesses along a main street in Qeraqosh were burned by ISIS as they pulled out of the city. ISIS has left scars that will take many years to heal and rebuild. 5
Page 1 and 2: WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG FEBRUARY 2017 P
Page 3: Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis hav
Page 7 and 8: “Imagine what the Church could do

February 2017 Persecution Magazine (2 of 4)

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?