Inside an Iraqi Christian ghost town

Christof Putzel journeys to the Christian town of Qaraqosh in Northern Iraq, which most residents have fled

July 9, 2014 11:45AM ET

by Christof Putzel @ChristofPutzel

QARAQOSH, Iraq – Christians are only 2 percent of Iraq's mostly Muslim population. And while they have little to do with the ongoing fighting, as I witnessed in the Christian village of Qaraqosh in Northern Iraq this week, they're suffering the consequences.

The Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has been launching mortars into the area. Last week, we watched as 90 percent of the town’s residents fled to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region in Iraq, terrified of rumors they had heard about ISIL fighters in Syria killing Christians and burning churches.

We journeyed to Qaraqosh with an Iraqi military escort, entering what looked like a ghost town. As we drove in, businesses were closed and the streets practically bare.

Amir Hadia and his sister Rajda are among the few brave residents who have returned. Amir said that at least eight mortars were launched into Qaraqosh. He showed us where two of them landed: in his front yard.

"It just sprayed the rest of the house," he explained.

We’re afraid too, but we have faith of God that he will save us. He never forgets us. We are proud of being Christian."

"We don’t have water or electricity, Rajda added. "And we’re afraid too, but we have faith of God that he will save us. He never forgets us. We are proud of being Christian."

When the shelling started, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stepped in to make sure the fighters from the Islamic State did not occupy Qaraqosh. Now, the rebels remain poised less than a kilometer outside the city limits, and residents here fear their next move.

They've heard horror stories from across the border in Syria.

"They killed the Christians. They took money from them, and if they don’t have money, they took their wives," one shopkeeper told me. "We are scared and afraid."

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Now, men like Amir are trying to take security into their own hands with an AK-47 in hand, he and others lead a 24-hour patrol around the New Church of the Immaculate, the largest church in Iraq.

One of them told me why he's prepared to fight if rebels attack.

"It is our duty to protect the Church," he said. "There are enemies all around us, Muslims who would like to take our land."

Along with the guards, the priests inside the Church never fled, even when ISIL was at their doorstep. Archbishop Basille Casmoussa insists that in the future, no matter what happens or how afraid they are, everyone must stay.

"Our life is in danger," he explained. "It is not like the United States where you have freedom for all and you have the same basis for morality."

To him, the goal is simple, keeping the land and keeping the faith.

Archbishop Basille Casmoussa insists that in the future, no matter what happens or how afraid they are, everyone must stay.

"I have this stone," he told me, pounding his hand on the ground. "It is my stone. I stay here!"

Little by little people are returning to Qaraqosh, but most of the people we spoke to do not feel that resolve, and faith in God alone, will be enough to protect them.

In fact, some even say they want foreign help.

"If the U.S. Army come again to Iraq, it's better," the shopkeeper said. "Because they know how to treat these people. And they have many kinds of weapons to use with these kinds of people. And I think they can dismiss them out of this country."