The husband of one family was highly educated with two degrees, but they fled their large home and good lifestyle empty handed. They knew if they had been stopped as they fled and anything was discovered (clothing, papers, and furniture), they would have been killed. They had been given 48 hours to leave Baghdad. In the little village where they took refuge, over 70 families have found shelter since September 2006. Before then, only 35 families inhabited the village.
Christians Murdered
Christians are being killed almost everyday in Iraq. Some are known to Open Doors, but many are unknown.
On June 3, a priest and three of his deacons were murdered in Mosul. Father Ragheed Keni, pastor of the Holy Spirit Church in the Al-Noor neighborhood of Mosul, was murdered along with his deacons by unidentified gunmen immediately after the Sunday Mass. The gunmen opened fire, sending a barrage of bullets into the priest and his deacons as they left the church premises.
Kidnapping
Every day Open Doors hears of kidnappings. Many kidnappings end with the victims being killed, even though relatives paid much money for their release.
A Christian man told us about his kidnapping. He simply drove into a roadblock and was taken out of his car. When his family didn't have $400,000 to pay for his release, negotiations started and funds as well as earnest prayers were raised. During his ordeal, the hostage developed a bond with the leader of the kidnappers. Was it God's grace? It surely helped him to survive.
He still suffers from emotional wounds. One day while he was being held, he was brought to a room where there were other captives. He was given a gun and asked to shoot the men. He couldn't do it. His heart raged with fear and he cried to God in his heart as he handed over the gun. Would he now be next in line? They laughed about his weakness but spared him.
The teasing went on when some days later he was brought into a room where somebody was at the point of being beheaded. He managed to talk himself out of the room. Finally his family was able to get him safely released for much less money than first asked for.
Is There Hope?
What is the future of the church of Iraq? Nobody knows. The trials of Iraq's Christian community are hard. From a human point of view, there is no hope. Only God, by our prayers, can change history. So pray for a living church in Iraq. Pray that the northern province of Kurdistan will stay stable, in spite of many factors that can destabilise the region.
Open Doors started a large relief project for the people who fled the violence. We are searching for more ways to extend our help, but it is no easy task. Pray for Open Doors' co-workers in this country who try to help.
