[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Its mother was raped by DAESH militants and left pregnant. The elders of her tribe wanted to kill the baby. But the child was saved, “something that could only have happened thanks to the Church”
A baby saved from death in Iraq. A story of the triumph of good over evil. And it happened on Iraqi soil, where for three years this evil, thanks to the terrorists of so-called Islamic State (DAESH), ran unchecked through this land, destroying the lives of so many peoples and religious minorities.
A teenage girl was imprisoned and raped by these extremist militants. Like thousands of other women of the ethnic and religious minorities. Without doubt these women were among the greatest victims of this genocide, forced into sexual slavery by the fanatics.
According to information given to the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), this girl was left pregnant as a result, and on hearing of this, the elders of her tribe took the decision to kill the child as soon as it was born. To their way of thinking it was impossible to leave alive a child conceived by DAESH, since to their mind it was practically the devil.
However, this young woman did not want to kill the child she was carrying within her womb. Somebody put her in touch with the local Church community and as a result, she was able to give birth to a baby boy and leave him in the care of the religious sisters, who welcomed him into their orphanage. For a month the child was cared for with great love, while the mother herself was also kept in safety to protect her from violence as a result of her decision.
The anonymous witness who revealed the news of these events and also held the baby in their arms, insisted to ACN, “I want you to hear some good news about what happened in the Church here. Something that could only have happened thanks to the presence of the Church. It is a story of life and about why our presence is so important here.”
The story has ended with the baby being welcomed and adopted, a month after its birth, by a Christian family. A family who promised to bring up their new child in a spirit of love and forgiveness. It is something that the Christians are bringing, day by day, in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. Evil never has the last word.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
