(Image courtesy GAiN)
Iraq (MNN) — Do you run headlong into danger, or find the fastest route of escape? For one Global Aid Network (GAiN) USA leader, the choice was clear.
GAiN USA CEO Al Goff is sharing firsthand reports this week as he assesses the needs of families displaced by violence.
“Personally, I’m deeply grieved for these people. This war is so much worse than what I’ve seen via television in the States,” Goff shares in a recent blog. “Most have witnessed killing and live in terror of being next.
“Fear is the operative word here. It is palpable.”
A week ago today, Goff left the U.S. for Iraq and was taken straight into the field. Goff has been helping local ministry leaders distribute much-needed medical supplies over the past few days and is continuing to share the hope of Christ with refugees.
Read the latest update on GAiN USA’s Web site.
After living in the same place all their lives, Goff reports, many Sunni Iraqis are forced from their homes with no hope of return. In addition, Islamic State (IS) extremists who were formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are demanding all Sunni property owners in Iraq to pay up.
“If not paid, [IS] will confiscate the land and sell it. The displaced Iraqis who fear for their lives know the national government will not protect them,” Goff writes.
“So, they face an impossible choice: risk returning home to pay the tax and face the very real possibility of being killed, or flee for their lives and lose everything.”
“We need to keep working to help. There is no lack
of need and opportunity for God to show His
greatness if His people respond.”
(Image, quote courtesy GAiN)
Refugee camps run rampant with fear that IS will find and kill those who’ve fled. Despite this, Goff is confident that your help has a potential impact for the Gospel like never before.
Goff shares three urgent needs:
- Medicine and supplies for clinics in the refugee camps
- Swamp coolers: a type of fan designed to blow across a water-soaked fabric for maximum cooling effect
- Three wells for Christian villages near Mosul
Help GAiN USA meet needs and advance the Gospel in Iraq here.
“They are overrun with IDPs, and the risk of disease grows each day,” writes Goff regarding the Christian villages near Mosul.
“Imagine the impact these Christian Iraqis could have by helping their neighbors who are fleeing for their lives!”
This article should not Sunni be replaced with Shiite – I thought the IS were Sunni, would they be imposing the hardships on their own people?
Good point, but the report specifically mentioned Sunni Muslims…I believe the IS terrorists are radical enough to impose taxes on Muslims they don’t believe are “Sunni enough”.