Iraqi Christians in Amman, Jordan and Kurdistan

Nadjm has lived with his wife and four children in the Mar Youssef Church in Amman. According to a spokesman for Caritas, around 1,000 Iraqi Christians currently live in Jordan’s churches, after they fled to northern Iraq. In the Mar Youssef Church around 18 families, 76 people in total, found shelter in the center that is usually used to celebrate Christian fests such as Christmas.
According to the Christian organization Open Doors, almost the entire Christian community has left Mosul and its surrounding areas after IS took over the area. Around 140,000 Christians went to the KRG or abroad. In the best-case scenario, Christians living in areas taken over by IS are treated as second-class citizens. They have to pay a special tax and will persecuted if they do not convert.