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Iraq: There is always hope
For the first time since ISIS drove all the Christians from Iraq’s Nineveh Plain in 2014, the Christian town of Qaraqosh celebrates Easter after many of its families returned. All this week leading to Easter, we will be visiting Qaraqosh to meet with Christians there.
Maryam lives in Qaraqosh with her husband and her little boy, Toma. But she misses her family who have migrated to safer countries.
Originally from Mosul, 27-year-old Maryam is a teacher.
“It’s very hard to live in Iraq, as a Christian, especially in Mosul”, she tells us. “Our life there was so difficult… ”
She and her family left Mosul when it got too hard for Christians. Now she lives in Qaraqosh. But it is difficult to get used to living in a different community.
“It’s hard sometimes to be alone,” she says. “I mean, you need family to look after you, to care for you.”
She also worries about the future of her son. “I don’t want him to have to live like us. I hope that my son someday will have a place in this world.”
There is always hope in God
But there is hope. In particular, Maryam believes in the hope offered through her job as a teacher.
“I became a teacher because I love teaching children”, she says. “It’s the most noble job in the world. Because we not only teach the children how to write. But we teach them to be positive and how to dream about things that they like.”
When everything around her seems to be dark, Maryam also finds hope in her faith. “There is always hope in God. We believe that tomorrow will bring beautiful things to us, as long as we are positive. Hopefully that we live a good life again, as before. So, we’re hoping for the best.”
Hope for the Middle East
Thank you! You enabled the voice of suffering Christians in Syria and Iraq to be heard in the White House, the United Nations, the European Union and parliaments around the globe, including our own.
This incredible global response continues to ensure Christians and other minorities have a future – both on the ground in Syria and Iraq and globally advocating on behalf our persecuted family.
Families are rebuilding homes and lives in Iraq – developing sustainable livelihoods. The celebration of Easter in Qaraqosh was a milestone in the recovery of this community and a sign of hope for the region that Christ’s resurrection brings the greatest hope in the darkest times.
We support people who are beaten, tortured,
imprisoned, falsely accused, and hated simply for following Jesus.
