07/15/2014 Washington, D.C. (International
Christian Concern) International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned
that two nuns, Sister Miskintah and Sister Atur Joseph, and three orphans have
been released after being held for 17 days near Mosul, Iraq. The five went
missing on June 28th from Mosul and were held until being released on Monday.
While there is a sense of relief over their release, the Christian community
remains concerned about both their present and future in Iraq.
The two nuns ran a foster home
for orphans near Mosul. When the Islamic State of Iraq and al Shams (ISIS) first
attacked Mosul on June 9, the sisters were able to safely move all of the
children out of Mosul to Dohuk in the Kurdish controlled region of Northern
Iraq. "Sister Atur made quick visits to Mosul to check on the house and
retrieve some of the girls' belongings and work and study kits," the
Ankawa
news site reports. "The two nuns disappeared on 28 June along with three
of the young orphans who accompanied them on one of these brief visits to Mosul."
The nuns have been praised for
their faithful service despite the incredible difficulties Iraq has faced over
the past decade. "In all these terrible years for our country, Sisters
Atur and Miskinta have done a great job, without ever abandoning Mosul and
allowing the girls to study," Sister Luigina Sako told Fides
on June 30.
After the sisters were discovered
to be missing, church authorities contacted religious leaders of Mosul's Sunni
community immediately, to keep the situation under control and ensure that the
individuals who had been stopped by ISIS militants were granted complete
freedom of movement, Vatican
Insider reported. "We were extremely worried for them, especially for
the girls. We are overjoyed by the news that came from Dohuk today,"
Sister Sako said.
"The nuns and the children were
kept in a house, they were given food and were not treated badly," says
Patriarch Louis Raphael I. No ransom was paid for their release, the foster
home, however, was ransacked and their car confiscated, he told Fides.
"There is a great feeling of
rejoicing over having these five released," Joseph Kassab, president of Iraqi
Christians Advocacy and Empowerment, told ICC. "But the future is very
unclear for Iraq's Christians. It is bleak at this time. There is a lot of
uncertainty and fear for their lives and for survival as a community. People
are on the edge," he continued.
Reports continue to emerge of the
deteriorating situation in Iraq. ISIS has been imposing their extreme
interpretation of Islamic
rule in Mosul, and the land they control, spanning from central Iraq to
northwestern Syria. Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes,
access to drinking water and food and sanitation is creating a humanitarian
crisis for those displaced from their homes.
Todd Daniels, ICC Regional
Manager for the Middle East, said, "We rejoice at the safe return of
Sisters Atur and Miskinta and the three young people with them. We remain
extremely concerned about the fate of Iraq's Christians. As a religious
minority they are facing threats from both sides in the conflict and ensuring
their survival is a burden that the international community cannot afford to
ignore."
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