ACN News: Tuesday, 31st October 2017 – IRAQ

Sister Ilham offers children a safe place near Mossul

By Jaco Klamer


Although Sr Ilham and her order suffered terrible losses when ISIS invaded Iraq, she manages to speak with an inspiring calmness: “None of us wanted to abandon our place - but as the attacks didn´t stop, we had to save our lives and flee,” reflects Sr. Ilham quietly. The 57 year old Dominican nun was serving in a Mosul church when the rapid advance of ISIS forced her and the community to flee taking only what they could carry. Today she serves those remaining IDP’s in the Christian city of Telleskuf in northern Iraq’s Nineveh Plains.

“In 2016, around six thousand people had to leave Telleskuf. When I returned to this area, all the houses were abandoned and many of them were destroyed. In Telleskuf a lot of buildings have been reduced to rubble. The school and the children’s home have been obliterated, the doors of the convent were forced and the nuns’ residence was robbed.”


(Sr Ilham stands in the burnt out shell of the convent © Jaco Klamer/ Aid to the Church in Need)

The Dominican Sisters started restoration of their convent in Telleskuf located 19 miles from Mosul, in May. “I worked from seven a.m. until seven p.m. to make the convent ready for the children.” This does not only refer to the place and equipment. It has also to do with the handling of emotions. “We have day-care for children who are three, four and five years old. From eight a.m. until one p.m. we host around one hundred and fifty children, aged six to twelve, and from five p.m. to seven p.m. we welcome the children who are twelve years old and older. We also visit the people of the community at home and we give the children catechism: we prepare them for their first communion. Before the invasion of ISIS we worked in the convent with five sisters, but now there are just two of us. Luckily, we will receive backup soon.”

A safe place for the children

Instead of looking back, Sister Ilham now tries to look ahead: “I am glad to see people return to their houses and getting on with their lives,” says Sister Ilham smiling. “It is a shame that the government has barely restored the road – they should contribute more to the rebuilding of the villages and cities. However, our biggest concern is the safety in this area. Our first priority is the children. They have been changed by the control of ISIS: by the increase in fighting, I can tell that they have become more nervous and more aggressive.” There is still plenty of work to be done but as Sister Ilham stands to leave she shares a final thought in the midst of such destruction: “Everyone is trying their best to live with each other harmoniously. We try to help the children by giving them peace: at the convent, we offer them a safe place.”


(Sr Ilham out at the local market shopping for fresh food for the children in her care © Jaco Klamer/ Aid to the Church in Need)

The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has supported the restoration of the convent of the Dominican Sisters of St Catherine of Siena in Telusquf (Telleskuf) with a grant of 45 thousand Euros. Since 2014 and up to September 2017 ACN has provided over 34.5 million Euros for projects in Iraq, of which 7 million Euros were dedicated to housing costs and 11 million Euros to food and other basic necessities for IDPs in Erbil as well as 1,8 million Euro for the reconstruction of houses and churches in the Nineveh Plains. The pontifical foundation has already helped to renovate nearly 200 houses (188 exactly) and pledged to renovate 404 in Qaraqosh/Baghdeda and 150 houses in Bartella.


Editor’s Notes

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 172 languages and 50 million copies have been distributed all over the world.
While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material.

For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153.

On Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org