Christians celebrate Easter Mass in Nineveh Plains

Описание: (31 Mar 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Qaraqosh, Nineveh Plains, Iraq - 30 March 2024
1. Various of mass ceremony inside Immaculate Conception Church
2. Wide of choir singing
3. Christian faithful attending the mass
4. Tilt up of priest leading the mass
5. Man praying inside the church
6. ++NIGHT SHOTS++ People gathering in church yard
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Anita (no second name given), mass attendee from Qaraqosh:
++NIGHT SHOTS++
“Personally, I wish for all Qaraqosh people to be happy and congratulate each other despite all sorrows, and we should be always happy. Also, I wish for Qaraqosh to remain alive with its people and stand together always.”
8. Top shot of faithful Christians inside the church
9. Various of participants in the mass
10. Various of mass ceremony in the church
11. People standing outside the church
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nassar Mubarak, mass attendee from Qaraqosh:
“We will definitely stick to this land and remain here until the last, and hope for a change. We hope in this happy feast, in this Easter from the God and his will to make a change in the minds of leaders and those who are in power.”
13. Various of people attending mass in church
14. ++NIGHT SHOTS++ Illuminating cross sign on Immaculate church in Qaraqosh
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians attended Easter mass in Qaraqosh on Saturday in the Nineveh Plains.

For Christians, Easter is a day of joy and hope, as they mark their belief that Jesus triumphed over death by resurrection following his crucifixion.

Worshippers in Qaraqosh attended Easter Mass at the city's Immaculate Conception church.

“Personally, I wish for all Qaraqosh people to be happy and congratulate each other despite all sorrows, and we should always be happy,” said Anita, a mass attendee from Qaraqosh.

Iraq's Christian communities in the area were dealt a severe blow when they were scattered by the Islamic State group onslaught in 2014, further shrinking the country's already dwindling Christian population.

“We hope in this happy feast, in this Easter from the God and his will to make a change in the minds of leaders and those who are in power,” said Nassar Mubarak, a mass attendee from Qaraqosh.

Iraq was estimated to have nearly 1.5 million Christians before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

They date back to the first centuries of the religion and include Chaldean, Syriac, Assyrian and Armenian churches.

Now, church officials estimate only a few hundred thousand, or even less, remain within Iraq's borders.

While those who have returned have been rebuilding fractured but vibrant communities with resolve, some still feel vulnerable and eye better lives elsewhere.

AP video shot by Farid Abdulwahed

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