Return home

"The first Christian families are returning to their recently liberated villages on the Nineveh Plain . . Without electricity and water but happier than ever, sisters Nidal and Janan are home at last. “We believe in Christ. He will help us through this period. He keeps us strong.”

Mosul, on the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq, was captured by Islamic State back in 2014. Its 60,000 Christians were given the choice to convert, pay an extra tax, or bow to "the sword." Most of them left - as fast as they possibly could, leaving homes and possessions behind, often winding up in refugee camps.

Those sisters mentioned above are happy to come back, but it's not the same place. Click on "Iraq" under Labels for details about the destruction under IS. 

"Father Gabriel warns not to expect things to return to normal now that IS is gone. “The liberation was just step one. The next step should be the protection of Christians. We can’t do that ourselves; we need the help of the rest of the world. Like when Europe in the 20th century needed the help of the world to cast out evil and to liberate and protect people, in the same way this region needs international protection now. IS may have been defeated, IS’s ideas are still very much alive.”