Christians are gradually returning to their homes in the Christian town of Keramlis on the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq more than two years after it fell to the Islamic State terror group, but their excitement soon disappears as they see their churches desecrated and their homes damaged. The church bell at the St. Addai church in Keramlis tolled this week for the first time since August 2014,

but a confessional had been turned into a closet, a tomb had been desecrated and red prayer benches were burned, The Associated Press reported. “It was amazing, I got goose bumps. The bell for us means a great deal,” Sahir Shamoun, a resident who visited the area with his wife to check on their home, was quoted as saying. Most of the houses in the area have been damaged. “I feel great sadness. I’m not sure when or if I’ll be back. I think of my children, will they have a future here?” READ MORE

 


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