In the summer of 2014, while the Isis militias were advancing, they fled to Kurdistan. Now they are starting to return back to their homes. The story of Silvia Batras, an Iraqi Dominican Sister.
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On Tuesday 17 October, in Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh plain (Iraq), after weeks of work carried out by a local company, we reopened our primary school, which had been sacked and damaged by the Jihadists of Isis. We welcomed 400 children back here with their families. In the near future - thanks to the decisive help of the Avsi Foundation (which has been following us for some time) - we will also reopen the kindergarten, which had been set on fire”. These are the words of Silvia Batras, an Iraqi Dominican Sister. Originally from Alqosh, 36 years old, she now lives in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan: she leads the local Dominican community, teaches catechism and is vice-president of the school built for Christian refugees. From Erbil she follows the return of his sisters to the Nineveh’s Plain, where she often goes. She told Vatican Insider the story of the outflow of Christians after the invasion of Isis, the sufferings they have experienced, the hope that sustains them, the liberation. She tells of lives passed through consuming tribulation that yet hanged onto the Lord.
Let’s return to summer 2014: when did you flee from the Nineveh Plain?
On Friday, August 1,2014, with the advancement of Isis militias, my seven sisters and I left the convent of Tilkef to take refuge in Alqosh in another community of ours. On the 6th day, there were rumors that Isis was arriving: my sisters departed during the day; I stayed there to help my family members who lived in the city: at 11:00 p. m. we too decided to flee, together with thousands of other Christians. And we began to walk: I remember the fear, anger, pain, anxiety, and the crying of children. The next morning, we were safe in Kurdistan. In the following days, they told us that there were about 150,000 Christians fleeing from the Nineveh Plain: it was a true exodus. I will never forget that night: I always pray the Lord that no one should ever experience what we have experienced.
What crossed your mind that night?
I was scared. All women, in particular, feared that they would end up as Yazidae: abducted, raped and sold. I was also angry with the Lord because I didn’t understand what was happening, it seemed to me that I was ending up in the middle of the sea on a boat shaken by the storm. Then, over time, as I gave help to the refugees, I realized that Jesus had always been on our boat, just as he was on the boat of His disciples when the storm broke out (Lk 8:22-25; Mk 4:35-41; Mt 8:18:23-27). He has never abandoned us.
How many Christians, approximately, have returned to live in the Nineveh’s Plain?
It is difficult to say, the numbers vary from week to week and there are no official figures, but I think they are a good number. The Pontifical Foundation “Aid to the Church in need” (which recently launched an important project to support the return of Christians), citing sources from the Committee for the Reconstruction of Nineveh, estimates that about 3,000 families have returned to their homes, or approximately 15,000 people. We Dominican Sisters, obeying the Church’s request that we should be present to support these families, have established ourselves for the moment in two centers: three Sisters live in Telskuf, ten in Qaraqosh. Towards Christmas, after having finished fixing up the house, three will go to Bartella. Unfortunately, no village on the Plain has been spared from the fury of Isis. In recent months, after the liberation in October 2016, we have seen what Isis had done: an inhuman destruction.
Can you describe it?
Most houses have been looted or burned or damaged by bombs, there are mined areas, churches have been destroyed, convents burnt to the ground, while cemeteries have been desecrated. When my sisters, after their liberation, first went to Qaraqosh, they found the school and convent damaged: the Isis militiamen had stolen or set fire to everything, even the library books. After a week, my sisters went back because they wanted to take some books: they saw the convent had almost been completely destroyed: somebody, days before, had brought there a car filled with explosives and had it blow up”.
What activities do your fellow sister currently carry out?
“In Qaraqosh, they work in the school and kindergarten. In Telskuf, they are involved in the kindergarten, which is attended by 70 children, and are now in the process of setting up the convent. One of them teaches in the public school. In these two centers, they also assist priests in pastoral activity by teaching catechism and are present for those who seek consolation, support and encouragement”.
What is the situation now in the centers of the Nineveh Plain?
“The damaged houses and churches are now being rebuilt or repaired, and a number of shops have been opened, including some small restaurants. Classes have already begun in fifteen schools. Life, slowly and laboriously, is starting again. However, there is still so much to do. I know that several families from the Plain region, who have now emigrated abroad, have offered their homes, which are still in good condition, for one year free of charge to families whose homes have been damaged. In addition, after the liberation, the Church - which paid half of the rent to the refugees in Kurdistan - immediately became available to finance part of the expenses sustained by families for the reconstruction of housing. The sense of community has not been lost: people help and support each other.”
What is the greatest desire of the families returning to their towns?
“They desire peace, they hope to live in peace and raise their children in a serene environment: all of us pray that the weapons will once and for all remain silent. The reconstruction work will take a long time: we will have to be patient. We Dominican Sisters wish to continue to bring the caresses of Jesus to these people who have suffered so much: sometimes very little is needed to give courage, to rekindle souls: a smile, a gentle word, a glance of understanding”.
What signs have left Isis’s cruelty and the hurried flight, in the children who attend your schools?
“We had just opened the school in Erbil when one day a strong storm broke out; it was thundering: the children were very frightened, they began to shout out that the Isis was coming and they had to flee. Although three years have passed, they are still frightened. And unfortunately, they are aggressive, often quarrel and beat each other up: we teachers try in every way to calm them down, to make them feel safe, protected, but it’s not easy because their lives have been shaken.”
The faith of the Christians of the Nineveh Plan has been severely tested in this very difficult passage of history.
“During the invasion of the Plain, Isis forced Christians to choose from one of these three options: convert to Islam, pay a fee (jaizya) or leave their city. After reaching Kurdistan, many people - who had preferred to flee rather than deny Jesus - began to wonder why the Lord had abandoned them, why he had allowed this evil. Their faith has faltered. It is human: such a question always emerges on the lips of those who suffer harassment, violence and injustice. I remember a particularly troubled mother: the Isis militiamen had kidnapped her three-year-old daughter and with her eyes full of tears she continued to ask why God had allowed this to happen. Many other people, on the other hand, since arriving in Kurdistan, have strongly and convincingly supported us that the Lord had not abandoned us, that if he had not been with us we would have died. All these people have continued to trust in Him, certain of His closeness. And they were therefore able to help those who had begun to feel abandoned by the Lord.”
Have you had any news of the kidnapped girl?
“Yes, she was freed this year by soldiers from the Iraqi army. Unfortunately, the little girl has forgotten almost all of her previous family life (for example, she no longer speaks Aramaic but only Arabic), but with love and parental care she will recover.”
In these years, have the Christians of the Nineveh Plain felt the closeness and support of the Church?
“Yes, very much. This was a great gift that the Lord has made to us, of which we will never stop thanking. We did not feel abandoned: the Church took care of all of us with prayer and with works and fundraising carried out by humanitarian associations and individual communities. I would like to mention in particular the help (a blessing!) given in Kurdistan by the local Church, which from the beginning has opened its own buildings to welcome refugees and guaranteed many services offering food and other basic necessities, and the great support that has been offered to us in recent years by the Pontifical Foundation “Aid to the church in need”: for example, in 2014, a few months after the escape of Christians from the Plain, it provided them with prefabricated houses. All the aid received has mitigated the many hardships and deprivations that families have experienced and still experience in Kurdistan.”
What gift do you think Christians on the Nineveh Plain are offering to the Christian communities of the world?
“I think their gift is bringing courage to hold on to the Lord no matter what happens and the firm conviction that He is always close to us. I will tell you an episode: during the first year of our stay in Erbil we organized a meeting dedicated to the Word of God with young people: a young man wanted to read to everyone the last verse of the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus says, “And remember, I am with you each and every day, until the end of the world” (Mt 28:20). Then he said that these words were true for him, that Jesus was keeping his promise, he was really with us every day and would always be with us. The other boys nodded. This is our faith.”
