Easter Celebration Slowly Returns to War-Torn Iraq
For the first time since the Islamic State (ISIS) overran Tel Esqof in 2014, Christians gathered in a church there to celebrate Easter mass. The occasion was emotional for the parishioners who didn't think they would be able to return, much less worship in a building they thought had been destroyed.
It has been six months since U.S.-backed Kurdish and Iraqi forces recovered the city from ISIS that enabled 350 families to return. Unlike other towns that were overrun by ISIS, Tel Esqof, or Bishop's Hill in Arabic, did not sustain serious damage to its structures, according to Reuters.
Apart from broken windows and a cross that was felled outside, Mar Gewargis (St. George) Chaldean Catholic church was surprisingly in good shape. Not all worshippers that Sunday were completely happy, though. Catholics from Mosul, about 20 kilometers to the south, wish they could also return to their place.
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In Ankawa, where the largest number of Iraqi Christians thrives, the presence of the offices of the U.S. consulate and relief agencies is a fitting symbol for the freedom of the faithful to observe Easter. They even dressed their children in traditional costumes to celebrate the occasion.
Located 87.2 kilometers east of Mosul, Ankawa is the center of Christianity in Iraq after 12,000 displaced Christians from different parts of the country gravitated here. It used to be Qaraqosh before it was overrun by ISIS in August 2014. It has been liberated in November 2016.
But Christians from Qaraqosh have adjusted in Ankawa for the past three years that many of them are unwilling to return.
"I will never go back," said Naja Rafu, a fruit vendor whose house was destroyed in his hometown. "It's safer here."
He added that he sees no point of uprooting his family and going through the rebuilding process again.
Almost 10 years ago, Ankawa's population was only about 15,000. But persecutions since 2003 have forced Christians to seek refuge in this Kurdish region's capital. The influx peaked three years ago at the start of ISIS' reign of terror until the number of people multiplied five-fold.
