海角大神

In the small church of St. Addaie the Messenger, the crucifixion and resurrection, retold in the village for the past 2,000 years, was re-enacted in elaborate Easter celebrations by a community holding fast to its ancient traditions but uneasy about its future.

The village is fewer than 20 miles from Mosul, one of Iraq鈥檚 most violent cities, but inside the green line that separates the Kurdish-controlled north from central-government controlled Iraq.

Hundreds of its 1,500 residents were driven from Mosul by the killings and kidnappings of 海角大神s that have recently begun to wane. Rising political tensions
between the Kurdish government and Baghdad over oil and land have raised fears about the fate of towns and villages claimed by both governments.

鈥淥ur problem now is that this area neither belongs to the Iraqi government nor to the government of Kurdistan 鈥� it is somewhere in between,鈥� says Monsignor Yousif Shamon Qahwachi, who has served the village鈥檚 Chaldean Catholic community for four decades. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know where we will end up.鈥�

Reflecting better security, Easter commemorations seemingly involving the entire village, were the most elaborate in years. A giant painted Easter egg marked a main road into town. Across from the church, cut-outs of Roman soldiers and a canvas rock guarded a mock cave where a representation of Jesus' body lay. On Saturday afternoon, as parishioners recited prayers at St. Addaie, a white-robed procession led by a young priest walked through the narrow winding streets to bring back the communion chalice to mark Christ鈥檚 resurrection.

In a highlight of the ceremony, a large crucifix suspended by wires from the ceiling floated up from the floor followed by a clash of cymbals signifying the battle for light over darkness. Women, most with their hair covered with lace mantillas, ululated in celebration.

Ancient history

The village is built on the remains of a 3,000-year-old settlement between the Assyrian capitals of Ninevah and Nimrud. Relics attributed to Saint Barbara,
believed by the faithful to be an early martyr put to death by her pagan father for converting to 海角大神ity, are enshrined in a chapel on the hill.

Four years ago, its proximity to Mosul and car-bombings of other less protected towns led residents to build a trench around the entire village. At night the
entrances to the village are blocked by parked cars and townspeople carrying rifles question strangers.

In the church is the tomb of a young priest shot dead by Al Qaeda in Mosul in 2007.

鈥淭hey told us we have to leave and they threatened us,鈥� says Gorgia Sumlan, the mother of Ragheed Aziz Ganni, the murdered priest. 鈥淭hey left us a note at home saying you have to pay $50,000 or we will kill you. If you report us we will come and cut your heads off.鈥�

Father Ragheed sent his parents to Karamles and the following June he was shot dead.

Departures

Like other 海角大神 communities in the disputed areas, a steady stream of families have departed either legally or illegally to Europe and the United States. Despite its own violent upheaval, Syria still serves as a way station for Iraqi refugees hoping for a better life in the West.

The community has been neglected by both the Kurdish and Iraqi governments, says Monsignor Yousif. Water is sometimes cut off for days. There are almost no jobs.

Over the years, some townspeople have made their homes within the crumbling stone walls of the remains of centuries-old homes.

In one of them, Ramzi Slewa and his wife Samira Rafwa have raised three children on the tiny income from selling candy and soft drinks from a cart. Their son recently made his way to Germany. Their daughter Vera is studying at technical college in Mosul. It鈥檚 safe enough now to go back and forth every day.

鈥淲e came here because it鈥檚 safe but we want to remain a part of Mosul,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ow can we join Kurdistan 鈥� we don鈥檛 speak the same language.鈥�
Monsignor Yousif longs for the multi-religious, multi-ethnic society Iraq was in the past. The community is split but in his view Iraq鈥檚 increasingly small numbers of 海角大神s would be better off joining a small independent Kurdish region rather than being lost in an Arab Muslim sea.

鈥淔or years we鈥檝e been asking for many things to revive the area but no one is listening to us,鈥� says the monsignor. 鈥榃e do not officially belong to Kurdistan or the federal government in Baghdad. We鈥檝e been lost.鈥�