Christian teens in Erbil next to tent with lettering spelling out the message “Jesus Christ is the Light of the World”
A Catholic priest in the predominantly Christian district of Ankawa in Iraq is doing everything he can to comfort and encourage the traumatized children who have been evicted from their homes by ISIS militants.
FoxNews is reporting on the work of Father Daniel Alkhory of the Mar Elia Chaldean Catholic Church inside Iraq’s Kurdish capital of Erbil. Hundreds of families are now living inside a sprawling tent community on the grounds of his church and he is doing everything he can to help children apply the principals of Christianity to the heartless persecution they are enduring throughout the region.
“It’s hard to explain [to the children] what is happening,” Father Alkhory told FoxNews. “I was teaching them the parable of Ishmael and Lazarus, talking to them about Heaven and Hell, so I used that to bring up ISIS. I asked them where ISIS will go and they said, ‘Directly to Hell!'”
Forgiveness will not come easy to these victims of one of the most extensive exterminations of Christians since biblical times, which is why he does his best to keep them busy.
The children in his tent village attend school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week, with after-school activities running from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. each night.
While Mass and Bible study make up critical components of every day, children spend time drawing images to express their feelings as frustrations, and are also encourage to play in the local park and to dance. They even saw their first ever 3D movie – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
“They wore the glasses and were just so happy,” Father Alkhory said.
Kurdish capital of Erbil
His center also hosts its own “Got Talent” and “The Voice” competitions which are modeled after the American TV shows where children can perform for friends and family and win prizes.
“The children are very traumatized. They’ve lost their hopes and dreams and we try to help them understand that life keeps going,” Alkhory said. “But a child is like a flower, we can shape them. We have to take care of them now; otherwise the next generation of ISIS could come from these children. Through all their sadness and depression, they wanted revenge. I knew I needed to build a new environment for them.”
Can Jesus’ gentle message of love and forgiveness even be heard by people living in a region where IS killers are chasing thousands from their homes while beheading and crucifying anyone who opposes them?
Yes! Father Alkhory tells the story of a Christian man who had been living next to a Muslim man for 20 years in the city of Mosul. One day, the Muslim man came to his door and demanded that he leave Mosul within 24 hours because he was a Christian.
“So the Christian man started to pack his things, but before leaving he said he won’t leave without saying goodbye to that neighbor,” Alkhory recounted. “His neighbor opened the door and was really angry and shouting at him, ‘Why are you here? I told you to leave Mosul!’ The Christian man said he wouldn’t leave without first saying goodbye. His Muslim neighbor started to cry and promised to protect him.”
Christ’s message is as powerful as ever!
As for the little ones whose short lives have been so heartlessly disrupted by IS fanatics, people like Father Alkhory are doing everything in their power to help them to forget – until they can forgive – the evils they have seen.
“I just keep telling the kids you have to forgive,” Father Alkhory said. “Forgiveness will lead us to so many paths. I don’t want them to grow up and be after revenge and be angry.”
They’ve seen enough of those emotions already.
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