Hear Her Cries

RANA

For more than two years, she was transferred between owners in Iraq and Syria. She was sold to her abusive “owners” for up to £19,000. She was forced to cook for Àghters’ children and clean their homes. Rana said: “The streets were full of mines. The family said, ‘If you go outside that door we will kill you.’” 73 Rana, then 31, and her husband didn’t escape in time when Daesh took Qaraqosh on August 7, 2014. 71 She was taken to Mosul. Rana said: “I wanted to escape, but there was no way to run away or leave.” 72

Mary. She said: “There were so many times where I could have committed suicide, but I decided I did not want to lose my soul. I still had one bit of hope.” Rana was eventually rescued and returned home. Father Duraid Barbar, a local priest said: “The women tell me, ‘I’m sorry because I left Jesus.’ I tell them, ‘There’s no problem, because Jesus loves you, he never left you’.”

She pretended to convert to Islam, but, at night she prayed to Jesus, and asked for the intercession of

WHY THE VICTIMS WON’T TALK

It is unknown precisely how many Christian women in Iraq and Syria were kidnapped and forced to convert and marry their abductor.

At the least, it is likely to be in the hundreds. Many of them are still in captivity somewhere. Their families don’t want to talk about the missing women, and nor do the few returned women do not wish to talk either.

Father Firas told ACN why so many are reluctant to share their story: “For anyone who experiences a tragedy in the past, the Àrst thing they want to do is to erase the memory.

“The second reason is a fear of interrogation and to have go into the centre of intelligence and endure many hours of interrogation. They want to avoid this.”He added: “It is really hard to come into contact with someone who will tell you what happened, because this topic is taboo.”

Archbishop Semaan emphasized that shame and fear of judgment play a part. He said: “It is a matter of social scandal or fear that people will talk about them… They won’t say anything because they are ashamed and don’t want to talk about it.”

Father Firas Lutfi (left), who ministers across Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

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