ICC Note: Most Christians fled their homes after ISIS took over their towns in Iraq. After the extremist were defeated and kicked out, many Christians decided to return to the place they called home. Now that is Christmas season again, many of these Christians are looking forward to celebrating it again.
12/24/2017 Iraq (Christian Today) – Christian families in Iraq are preparing to spend their first Christmas at home after returning to their homes following ISIS’ retreat.
An estimated 20,000 people are returned to Qaraqosh, northern Iraq, which was home to around 50,000 Christians before the invasion. For dozens of families this will be the first Christmas back in their home town and the Kurdish government has declared a national holiday for the Kurdish regions of Iraq.
‘We waited for three years,’ said Merna, a local Christian woman, according to persecution charity Open Doors. ‘This year Christmas will be very different because we have returned to our town Baghdeda [the local name for Qaraqosh]. Being able to go to church and seeing that there are people who are celebrating Christmas is something great.’
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