ISIS Invades Christian Qaraqosh
Rand Sabeeh was twenty years old when her world collapsed. On August 6, 2014, ISIS swept into Qaraqosh, Iraq—a city of 60,000 where nearly everyone was Christian. It was the largest Christian city in Iraq.
"We slept on the roof for days because of the heat and power cuts," Rand recalls. "We could see the rockets lighting up the sky. We thought we'd be gone for a few days, but then our town fell, and we realized we had escaped just in time."
The Christians of Qaraqosh were given a choice by ISIS: convert to Islam, pay an impossible tax, leave, or die. Within days, thousands fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Three Years of Displacement
Rand and her family joined the exodus, becoming refugees in their own country. For three years, she lived in displacement, wondering if she would ever see her home again.
When the liberation finally came, Rand returned to Qaraqosh. What she found broke her heart.
"When I came back after three years, I couldn't enter my house at first," she said. "I found ISIS books and remnants of their presence everywhere."
The militants had lived in her home. They had used the churches as prisons and torture chambers. They had tried to erase every trace of Christianity from the land.
But they had failed.
God's Protection Through Persecution
Rand and her community began to rebuild. They cleaned their churches. They restored their homes. They planted gardens in the ruins. Most importantly, they worshiped.
"Even when they tried to erase us, God left us a reminder of life," Rand said.
Rebuilding Faith and Future
Today, the Christians of the Nineveh Plain are writing a new story—not of victimhood, but of resurrection. Their population has declined dramatically since 2003, but those who remain are determined to stay.
"We remind our people that their faith is their strength," says Archbishop Warda. "Our faith has survived every persecution, every war, every hardship. And that is why we are still here."
Rand agrees: "A decade after ISIS tried to erase us, we stand strong, rebuilding not just our homes but our lives, our faith, and our future."
