Rebuilding Christian villages destroyed by ISIS could cost over $200 million, says charity

The findings of a study conducted by a Catholic charity in northern Iraq has indicated that the cost of rebuilding the villages destroyed by the Islamic State could exceed US$200 million (£160 million).

The study, conducted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on 12 Christian villages, found that 11,704 homes had suffered damage, 669 of which were completely destroyed, Independent Catholic News reported.

ACN's Middle East Projects Coordinator Fr. Andrzej Halemba, who oversaw the study, noted that the charity is working with churches to come up with plans to allow Christians to return to their homes.

"Of course, ACN will support reconstruction, but we have to work together with other charities - alone it would be impossible to manage this," said Halemba.

"We were expecting the families to start going back in June and ACN has to be ready to help them to go back. But the latest information indicates that some families have decided to go back to the villages already during winter, despite the harsh weather conditions and very poor or destroyed infrastructure," he added.

Some Christians have already started going back to the Nineveh Plains, and the survey conducted by the charity revealed that there is a growing appetite among the displaced communities to go home.

The charity asked 1,500 displaced families, who sought sanctuary in Erbil, if they wanted to return to their villages now that they have been liberated from ISIS. Out of 1,308 respondents, 87 percent said they might be willing to return, with 41 percent saying they definitely want to go back.

"Hope is coming back to the Nineveh Plains. Despite the many urgent questions that need clarification, people are willing to return to their villages," Halemba noted.

The survey also found that 57 percent of the respondents reported having their possessions plundered, and over 25 percent noted that their papers have been stolen.

About 1,000 people have returned to the Nineveh town of Telskuf and other parts of the region, which was under the control of ISIS between August 2014 and November 2016.

Unlike its neighboring village in Batnaya, where most homes were demolished, only 66 houses were destroyed in Telskuf, allowing 85 families to return by early March this year. However, 879 houses sustained some damage. There is still no electricity, and the water has to be bused in, but shops have already started selling meat and vegetables.

ACN is still supporting 12,000 families in Erbil. The charity inspected the damage to social institutions such as schools, clinics and church buildings, but it only processed the data on private homes.

Meanwhile, the operation to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS continues. The terror group has used a number of civilians as human shields. According to the U.N., at least 307 people have been killed between Feb. 17 and March 22 in the battle for the city.