Despite ISIS proximity, Christians in Alqosh feel protected by Peshmerga
Residents remain unafraid and busily go about their daily business of attending schools and work; coffeehouses remain as popular as before.
“This is our home and we will never abandon it,” said a Christian woman sitting outside her home. “It is true that we get scared when we think about the deeds of ISIS, but our fears dissipate when we see the Peshmerga forces protecting us.”
ISIS has come as close as three kilometers from the district of Alqosh, but the militants were driven out by the Peshmarga. The residents of Alqosh were fearing a fate similar to the Kurdish Yezidi town of Shingal, where in August ISIS went on a spree of murder and mayhem against the minority Yezidis.
Alqosh lies 44 kilometers from the center of Mosul, which has been the ISIS stronghold in Iraq since it was captured last June.
Around 7,000 people live in the district, the majority Christians. After the ISIS attack on Christians in Telkef and Telsqof in June, Alqosh residents deserted their homes and sought shelter in the city of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region.
But now, the majority has returned, and they say they do not want to become part of the Mosul governorate again. What they want is that the plains of Mosul are secured, or to else to join up with the autonomous Kurdistan Region.
In the evenings, residents of Alqosh walk the streets without fear; students leaving schools head home as in any normal town; hospitals remain open and teahouses are busy with the ruckus of crowds.
“When ISIS attacked Telkef we sought refuge in Zakho, but after two months when we learnt that the Peshmarga forces have warded off ISIS attacks we returned to our homes immediately,” said Shab Merto, a 55-year-old enjoying a moment of leisure at a teahouse.
“More and more people are returning to their homes each day. Life has become normal again, schools and all the government administrations are open,” he said. “We trust the Peshmerga completely with our safety.”
Alqosh is an old town where Christians have lived since ancient times. There are five Christian places of worship, one of them 1,500 years old.
There are still 100 families that have not returned to Alqosh, because they left for Turkey and Jordan in the face of ISIS advances. But residents believe that those families also will eventually return.
“Everything has returned back to normal and we can get everything we need. Life is normal again and we thank the Kurdistan Regional Government for protecting us,” said the priest of the oldest Church.
“Those who left Alqosh because of ISIS have all returned to their homes, except for those who went abroad,” said Abuta Jibrail Gorgis, head of the Virgin Mary Monastery in Alqosh. “Even those who went abroad are preparing to return as well. Last week two more families returned from abroad.