Most of the 50,000 Christian refugees and Yezidi welcomed in the suburb of Erbil, just Qaraqosh, the last great Christian city in Iraq, occupied since August by the militia of the organization Islamic state. In one of the 25 camps Ankawa, 400 families of Christian refugees were initially packed into a church hall before the tents and shacks. But this remains a makeshift asylum.
"This is not a way of life," said a refugee named Moshta. "We do not want to live like that. We want to immigrate, all of us. I have to go get water all (it shows the back building) there and bring here every day. My back hurts me. We do not want to live here. "
A short drive away, a building called "Hope" was born. It already houses 45 families of Christians and Yezidis refugees. The conditions are better than in the camps there hot water, toilets. But what many want above all is to return home.
"All I want is to go Qaraqosh, at home, even if everything was stolen. We want to regain our homes, our religion, our churches. They evicted us from our home, left us with no clothes, no food and no water, "explains Michael Karomi, an old man.
These are craftsmen who had to flee Qaraqosh who built and fitted out the building in part through funds from charitable organizations such as foundations St. Irenaeus Follereau and Marcel Mérieux. Starting next week, 200 families will be relocated there. Churches and associations coordinate the resettlement of refugees.
"They left the camps to come here in this building which is not even finished yet. A little better in the lives of Christians and Yezidis refugees even if their situation is dramatic. What is striking here is their smile, their capacity for resilience. They do not ask anything, they just want to deliver a message: "pray for us, help us go home," says Raphaële Tavernier, our reporter sent to Erbil.
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