Gorgya Paols, 63, receives a LWF food voucher, entitling her to a carton of food that will last a month. Despite the violence she fled in 2005 and the worsening situation since the ISIS insurgency, her single wish is for peace in Iraq. Photo: LWF/S. Cox
During this Advent time, we think of the people in Northern Iraq who have fled from their homes. Many of them are Christians who in the past months were forced to flee because of their belief. Like the holy family, they need the help of their neighbors. Host communities such as the Muslim population of Dohuk have supported the refugees in many heartwarming and compassionate ways.
With the help of member churches, LWF is assisting refugees in Dohuk, Northern Iraq. Through our implementing partner Christian Aid in Northern Iraq (CAPNI) we provide non-food items such as shelter, cooking kits, stoves, blankets, carpets and water and sanitation. In November, LWF has distributed winter clothing to the families.
For the Advent season, we have gathered four different stories. They tell of love, peace, hope and even joy which is experienced in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances.
We welcome you to share the stories and prayers in your congregation this Advent season.
2nd Advent: Peace
“My only wish is for peace in my country,” says Gorgya Paols, aged 63. That is all. She wishes nothing for herself. She simply wants her people to be free of the tyranny of endless cycles of violence, the most recent being attacks by ISIS on the Assyrian people, driving them from their homes with nothing but the clothes they wore.
Having already fled from Al-Quaeda in Baghdad in 2005, the ISIS uprising has made Paols’ situation worse. Persecuted for being Christian then and now by ISIS, she has extra reason to fear for her life. She shares a small house with her husband, and her son’s family of five.
“I love my country so much”, she says. “I don’t want to leave, like every Assyrian in this area. It makes me sad and I hope the people who have left might one day be able to come back to live together peacefully, happily. Every day, someone is leaving and I must say goodbye. Most recently, it was my neighbor.”
Her sick husband needs her constant care. She struggles to pay for medication and equipment to ease his discomfort. On this day, she has received a months’ supply of food from the Lutheran World Federation. As an elderly woman, she’s escorted to the head of the queue of mostly men, standing in the cold drizzle in a town covered in thick cold fog, close to the Turkish border.
She would like to spend the rest of her life living happily with her neighbors, without the threat of further upheaval. Her situation is dire but she has the courage to wish for peace – for herself and her country.
Pray this Advent season for peace in the many places of unrest, war and insecurity in the World. Give thanks for churches, organizations and individual people who are reaching out to help their neighbor in need. Pray that no person will have to endure persecution because of their belief.
