Even though her village was seized by the Islamic
State and she's now living a rough life in an
unfinished mall in Kurdish-protected Northern Iraq,
a displaced Christian refugee child is asking God to
"forgive" the ISIS militants.
After ISIS seized most of the Mosul region of Iraq
last June, over 400 mostly Christian displaced Iraqi
families from the villages of Qaraqosh, Bartella and
Kharamles descended upon the Kurdish capital of
Erbil to live in a half-built mall in the in the
Christian neighborhood of Ainkawa.
As the families had picked up and fled their villages in
a hurry before the ISIS militants reached their
towns, the families could only afford to bring bare
necessities and are now living in the mall without
much more than the mattresses, blankets and other
handouts they receive from humanitarian
organizations.
A correspondent with the Arabic Christian television
network SAT-7 's "Kids" program interviewed
children living in the Ainkawa Mall's refugee camp
and asked them what they missed the most about their
lives back home.
In talking with the reporter and camera crew, a little
girl named Myriam, from Qaraqosh, assured that
although her life has changed drastically in the last
year and her family's future remains uncertain, God
continues to provide for her and her family.
"We used to have a house and were entertained,
where as here we are not," Myriam said. "But thank
God. God provides for us."
The reporter was a bit perplexed by Myriam's
comment and asked what she meant by "God provides
for us."
"God loves us and wouldn't let ISIS kill us," she
explained.
(PHOTO: REUTERSR/AZAD LASHKARI)
Displaced Iraqi Christian children who fled from
Islamic State militants in Mosul, gather around a
Christmas tree at a mall still under construction, used as
a refugee camp in Erbil, December 24, 2014.
The reporter followed up by asking Myriam what she
would do if she ever had the opportunity to retaliate
for ISIS' onslaught of her hometown.
"I won't do anything to them," Myriam asserted. "I
will only ask God to forgive them."
After the interview, the reporter thanked Myriam for
her time. Then, Miriam replied, thanking him for his
sympathy.
"You felt for me," she said. "I had some feelings and
I wanted people to know how I feel."
Two other girls from Qaraqosh were also
interviewed. They were asked what they missed the
most about their lives before ISIS took over the
region.
"Our school and our church," Flourine responded.
Maryouma added that, although they miss their
church, "Jesus will be with us no matter where we
go."
The reporter subsequently asked, "Is Jesus with you
in this camp?"
"Yes," Fluorine asserted. "In our hearts."
The video concludes by showing the refugee children
outside the entrance of the mall singing: "My love for
my glorious Savior will increase with each new day.
A new life, a happy day, the day I reunite with the
Lord."
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