Myriam, a young Christian girl in Iraq, and her family fled their village near Mosul before the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) reached them. Now they live in a refugee camp located in an unfinished mall with only the bare necessities. Despite the hardship, Myriam hopes God forgives the terrorist group.
A reporter from the Arabic Christian station SAT-7’s Kids program interviewed the children at the mall. The reporter then asked Myriam what she would do if she could “retaliate” against the jihadists.
“I won’t do anything,” she answered in a calm voice. “I will only ask God to forgive them.”
The Islamic State drove out over 400 Christians from Qaraqosh, Bartella, and Kharamles near Mosul. Last June, the jihadists captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and former home to one of the largest Christian communities in the nation. Reportedly, for the first time in over 2,000 years, no Christians remain in the historic city.
Other children interviewed expressed gratitude for being alive, but missed their church and schools. The children and women who did not escape the Islamic State in other villages were kidnapped and forced into sex slavery. Numerous Yazidi girls who escaped from their tormentors told their horrific stories to the media. One young Yazidi girl begged the West to bomb the brothel she lived in.
The jihadists also implement Sharia law in the areas they control, which calls for treating women like second-class citizens. The women must wear double-layer veils and cannot leave home without a male guardian. They also ruled that females as young as nine may marry.