He fled from ISIS - today Behnam helps others who had to flee

When his priest and three deacons were gunned down and killed right in front of their church in Mosul in 2007, 14-year-old Behnam decided to become a priest.  

– I wanted to serve the church, Behnam tells Stefanus Alliance.  

Today, Behnam Ezzat works in Capni, the Stefanus Alliance's partner in northern Iraq. The interdenominational aid organization works to rebuild the lives of people displaced by ISIS.  

Behnam grew up in the city of Mosul, where his parents were born and raised. Behnam was 10 when Saddam Hussein was deposed and killed after the US invasion in 2003. Militias and Islamist terrorist groups ravaged Mosul, the city that had once been the center of Iraq's Christians.  

The Christians felt the violent pressure first hand. Sometime in 2005 or 2006, Behnam's family received a threat: If they didn't pay $20,000, one of them would be killed. They had no choice but to pay - they went to an agreed location and placed the money under a car. No one was killed. Nor when they later paid a second time.  

Despite the threats, they chose to stay in Mosul. For the time being.  

 
Priest killed  

On Sunday, March 4, 2007, Father  Ragheed Ganni (34), their own priest, was killed by terrorists right in front of the Chaldean Catholic Church Holy Spirit. Three deacons were also mowed down in cold blood. It was just after the Sunday service at the church, which Behnam and his family attended and had a strong relationship with.  

– At least 1,000 people left Mosul after the killings. They lost hope for a future in Mosul. – My family stayed, we wanted to look after the church, says Behnam.  

The tragedy would become important to him: Behnam thought that one day he would become a priest.  

– I couldn't replace our priest, but I wanted to serve the church.  

In February 2008, their bishop, Archbishop  Paulos Faraj Rahho, was abducted and killed. The driver and two guards were killed on the spot.   

The family still chose to stay in their family's town, along with 30-40,000 other Christians who had also not traveled under the pressure of the militias. When Behnam finished school in 2010, he made good on his youthful calling. He started studying theology with the Chaldean Catholic Church in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, 50 miles east of Mosul.  

The family lived on the west side of the Tigris River, which runs through the city. On June 5, 2014, Behnam was on his way home to his family to start his summer vacation from his priestly studies.  

On that very day, ISIS took Mosul.  

When ISIS came  

His father picked up and drove Behnam from Erbil in the east, into Mosul and across the Tigris. They had to pass several checkpoints controlled by ISIS.The arduous journey ended only in the evening.  

A month passed before they fled. – During this time, we didn't venture out except to get food, says Behnam. But one day the danger went out: IS was trying to enter the church. 

– My father wanted to stop them. His life was threatened. "Some local Muslims explained to the ISIS terrorists that this was a church and that it was like a second home for my father. They let him go. Fortunately, there were some good people too. There is a light of truth in everyone who believes - Muslims, Christians or Jews.  

ISIS threat 

Then came the threat and ultimatum from ISIS: Christians had to convert to Islam or pay "jizya", a protection tax. The family left. They knew they would risk their lives if they stayed.  

– We had to escape as quickly and as far as possible. We had to preserve our Christian faith. So we had to leave our house and our family's long history and our church in Mosul, Behnam sighs.  

Unharmed, they made it to a Christian settlement on the Nineveh plain east of Mosul. There they received help. But in August, ISIS terrorists also crossed the Nineveh Plain. Once again, the family had to flee, this time in the middle of the night.They got a roof over their heads in a dilapidated house before finding an apartment to rent in the town of Duhok, in the north of the autonomous Kurdish region. A few weeks later, Behnam was able to return to his own small dormitory at the theological seminary.  

Helping the displaced  

Behnam volunteered with churches and other organizations so that he could help people displaced from their homes by ISIS, as he was. 

– It was amazing to be able to help displaced people and serve them. I empathized with their suffering and could understand their needs because I had also lived through what they were experiencing, says Behnam. 

But he adds:  – When I returned to my studies, I no longer felt like a stranger in my own country. There was a significant difference between being a displaced person seeking shelter in a tent or an old house with your family on the run, and being back to your normal life. Even though I was also displaced, I had a life to return to. But the experience of being displaced helped me to understand the needs of other displaced people.  

Behnam completed his studies and became a priest. He worked briefly in a Chaldean Catholic parish. Now he works for the aid organization Capni while volunteering in his own church.  

– The churches have played a crucial role since the government was unable to help the many displaced people, says Behnam.  

Never going back to Mosul  

He will never move back to Mosul.   

– Maybe my father and mother will one day, because they have such strong feelings for their real home. I see no future for Christians in Mosul. 

– Do you have hope as a Christian in Iraq? 

– Our surroundings do not give us Christians hope here. Nor can the church feed us. But the church still gives us hope, because through the church we have roots, traditions and faith. There are so many stories from Christians who have left Iraq. I could also have a better life elsewhere, especially if I have children one day. God will guide my children, if I have children one day, Behnam says and adds:  

– I want to keep hope alive for Christians here in Iraq. We need to keep hope alive within ourselves in the face of life's pressing difficulties.