MOSUL, Iraq – Christian families from Tel Kaif, northeast Mosul, are hoping to return to their homes and celebrate their religious feasts, but fear persecution by Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi fighters who moved Arabs from other areas into Christian homes.
“I live in a rental house. Arabs have resided in my house in Tel Kaif. If they leave my house, I will return and renovate it,” Ayad Zaya, an IDP from Tel Kaif, told Rudaw.
Another Christian IDP from Tel Kaif shared her nostalgia for the days she spent with her relatives celebrating traditional Easter time feasts.
“I live in a rental house. Arabs have resided in my house in Tel Kaif. If they leave my house, I will return and renovate it,” Ayad Zaya, an IDP from Tel Kaif, told Rudaw.
Another Christian IDP from Tel Kaif shared her nostalgia for the days she spent with her relatives celebrating traditional Easter time feasts.
“Our feasts in Tilkif were very joyful and we were all together. All our relatives lived together, but now each of them lives in a separate place. We have been displaced for four years. Our feasts are not as before,” said Maryama Na’mo.
The Kurdish Peshmerga protects Tilsqof, where 90 percent of the population has returned, but there are Iraqi forces in Tel Kaif where only two families have returned. Tel Kaif IDPs live in Tel Eskof as well. They say Arabs have been residing in their home, including Zaya’s. Therefore they cannot return.
According to some Christian representative on Tel Kaif District Council, they have not returned because the situation has not changed since ISIS lost control of the area.
The Kurdish Peshmerga protects Tilsqof, where 90 percent of the population has returned, but there are Iraqi forces in Tel Kaif where only two families have returned. Tel Kaif IDPs live in Tel Eskof as well. They say Arabs have been residing in their home, including Zaya’s. Therefore they cannot return.
According to some Christian representative on Tel Kaif District Council, they have not returned because the situation has not changed since ISIS lost control of the area.
Yalda Shmoil, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official in Tel Eskof, says “there are reasons that prevent Christians from returning to Tel Kaif.”
Those Arabs who joined ISIS have now joined Hashd al-Shaabi, holding positions in both eras.
The center of Tel Kaif district is one of the disputed areas where 90 percent of the population was Christian when it was under the control of the Peshmerga. Now 97 percent of the population is Arab and 3 percent are Kurdish Shabak and other groups. There are now just two Christian families.
The Tel Eskof-Tel Kaif road has been closed for around five years.
Those Arabs who joined ISIS have now joined Hashd al-Shaabi, holding positions in both eras.
The center of Tel Kaif district is one of the disputed areas where 90 percent of the population was Christian when it was under the control of the Peshmerga. Now 97 percent of the population is Arab and 3 percent are Kurdish Shabak and other groups. There are now just two Christian families.
The Tel Eskof-Tel Kaif road has been closed for around five years.
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