Inside the newly renovated Church of Saint George in the Northern Iraqi town of Teleskof, Hayat Chamoun Daoud led children dressed as Santa Claus singing \u201cJingle Bells\u201d in Aramaic. Like every other resident of Teleskof, this was Daoud\u2019s first Christmas back home in three years, since Islamic State militants overran her town and forcibly displaced its 12,000-strong Chaldean Christian community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so special to be back in my church, the church where I got married, the church I raised my children in,\u201d the school headmistress said, tears in her eyes.<\/p>\n
Faced with a choice to convert, pay a tax or die, Daoud, like many other Christians in the Nineveh Plains, chose to flee. Most sought refuge in nearby towns and cities, but many sought permanent asylum abroad. Though the militants were only in Teleskof for a few days, residents only began returning home earlier this year.On Sunday, they celebrated their first Christmas together again at the town\u2019s main church, which was overflowing. Hundreds of congregants, dressed in their finest, poured in to pray and receive communion from Father Salar Bodagh, who later lit the traditional bonfire in the church\u2019s courtyard, a symbol of renewal he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018JOY SOAKED IN TEARS\u2019<\/p>\n
Despite the obvious joys of being able to celebrate openly once again, it was a bittersweet Christmas for most across the Nineveh Plains, the epicenter of Iraq\u2019s ancient Christian communities which can trace their history in the country back two millennia.<\/p>\n
Though Iraq declared full victory over the militants just two weeks ago after a brutal three-year war, the damage done to Christian enclaves was extensive, and left many wondering whether they could overcome their recent history.<\/p>\n
Islamic State ravaged Christian areas, looting and burning down homes and churches, stripping them of all valuable artifacts and smashing relics. The damage in Qaraqosh, a town 15 km (10 miles) west of Mosul also known as Hamdaniya, was extensive, particularly to the town\u2019s ancient churches.<\/p>\n
At the Syrian Catholic Church of the Immaculate, congregants gathered for midnight Mass on Sunday surrounded by scorched and blackened walls, still tagged with Islamic State graffiti. They also sat on donated plastic chairs \u2013 the church has not yet been able to replace the wooden pews the militants used to fuel the massive fire which engulfed the church. Most families will require tens of thousands of dollars to repair their homes and replace their stolen goods. But most say they can overcome the material damage, unlike the forced separation of their families.<\/p>\n
Before the militant onslaught, Qaraqosh was the largest Christian settlement in Iraq, with a population of more than 50,000. But today, only a few hundred families have returned. Entire congregations have moved overseas, such as the Syriac Orthodox congregation of the Church of Mart Shmony.<\/p>\n
On Saturday afternoon, Father Butros Kappa, the head of Qaraqosh\u2019s Church of the Immaculate was trying hard to summon any sense of hope to deliver his congregation during Christmas Mass. \u201cWe\u2019ll have a Christmas Mass like in previous years, but this year, ours will be a joy soaked in tears, because all of our people have left Iraq,\u201d said Father Kappa.<\/p>\n
Holding Mass in the singed and upturned ruins of his church was therefore important, he said, \u201cto remind everyone that despite the tragedies that have befallen us, we\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018NO FUTURE FOR US\u2019<\/p>\n
In Teleskof, 30 km (20 miles) north of Mosul and itself one of the oldest continuing Christian communities in the world, some families were skipping Mass altogether upset at their forced dispersal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe usually celebrate with our entire family,\u201d said Umm Rita, as she prepared the traditional Christmas Day dish of pacha (sheep\u2019s head, trotters and stomach all slowly boiled) at her home. \u201cBut how can we be happy this year? Our brothers and sisters, even my own daughter, her husband and child I\u2019ve never met have all moved away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community leaders estimate more than 7,000 of Teleskof\u2019s residents are now scattered across Iraq and it\u2019s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, the United States, Australia, Germany, Lebanon and Jordan. Amid ongoing tensions between the central government in Baghdad and Iraq\u2019s Kurds after a referendum on Kurdish independence was held over Baghdad\u2019s objections in September, Teleskof\u2019s residents fear violence once again. \u201cWe just want to live in peace,\u201d said Umm Rita. \u201cWe are more anxious now than when Islamic State was in our homes.\u201d \u201cOur community has been gutted,\u201d said Firas Abdelwahid, a 76-year-old former state oil employee, of the thousands who have sought permanent shelter overseas. Watching children play by the church bonfire, he felt melancholy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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