Christian refugees who escaped death from the hands of Islamic State militants recently shared their stories during an educational fundraising event in the hope of educating people about the workings of the extremist organisation.
Among the refugees is a young Iraqi woman who escaped from Bakhdida, 20 miles southeast of Mosul, when Kurdish troops defending the town from ISIS fighters abruptly withdrew.
The young woman said in August 2014, she fled on foot along with many other Christians and walked all the way to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, more than 40 miles away with the outside temperature reaching up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
She said many Iraqis, like her father, have no money or identification.
"It was the road of death, face to face with death," the young woman said. Their hopes rose when they saw an ambulance approaching them. Help at last, they thought.
But their initial joy turned into horror when the people inside the ambulance turned out to be ISIS militants who opened fire on them.
They managed to survive and were able to reach Erbil, where they had to "sleep out in the open, on streets and in public places.''
The woman said she even pleaded to the group, "You, the people of freedom, save my friends, especially the little girls and those who are sex slaves.''
According to her, the girls used to dream of getting an education but now they dream of a man who will present himself for marriage and has a passport, so they can get out and make it to the land of safety.
Another Christian refugee from Bakdida, a married woman with children, lamented that the place she used to consider home was no longer safe for her and her family. She also lamented the future of Christianity in Iraq given that those who took over Bakhdida included not only foreigners, but Sunni inhabitants of the city.
The educational event dubbed "Assembly of Hope and Mercy" was hosted by Regis University. It was sponsored by Save Christians in the Middle East, a group of religious, business, and community partners whose goal is to provide immediate support to endangered Christians.
