Christians in Ninewa cautiously celebrate Christmas

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: Christians in Ninewa cautiously celebrated Christmas with the intensified deployment of security forces near churches which host masses. “Jesus humanity saver, make us feel secure,” Suaad Samuel, 32, said during her pray with her husband and her two children in the mass held at the Mary Bolos Church in Mosul. She expressed hope that security spread throughout Mosul as well as all Iraq, so that all Christians, Muslims, Arabs and Kurds they are sons of one country. A number of churches in Mosul held yesterday masses amid tight security measures, during which security forces deployed to secure them. “We have deployed near the church since last night to secure it,” one of the officers assigned to protect the Marry Bolos Church told IraqiNews.com. Several Christian families have fled Mosul during the past weeks, while Iraqi security sources said that a few Christians were killed in separate incidents in the city, signaling an increase in the wave of attacks against religious communities in the northern volatile city. Christmas celebrations were held cautiously by Christians, who tried to hide the celebration. Some of them headed for the eastern towns of the city too attend the central mass held at al-Tahra church in Qarqoush region in al-Hamadaniya district. “It’s nice to celebrate Christmas at home with your family,” Ammar Afram, 66, said. “I came back to Mosul, but my brother refused until the stabilization of the situation,” Shimo’eel Yousef, 43, said. “We have to live our life and do not make fear control us. We will always celebrate Christmas,” he added “Christmas is an appropriate occasion to feel joy and to forget our bitter reality,” he noted. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. The original city of Mosul stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient biblical city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having an amount of Kurdish population, it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan RegionG). There are different communities in Mosul like Christians, Shiites and Kurds along with a Sunni majority. The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named for this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble. The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, Yunus in Arabic, and Nahum. SH (I) 1