Voice of the Martyrs Korea provides financial support for the sisters, ages 14, 17, and 25 (names and location withheld for security reasons).  

“The family lives in a rural village where Sunni Muslims are the majority,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. “Ten years ago, the family heard shots outside the house. The father went outside to see what was going on, and the mother followed him in order to try to drag him back to the house. Unfortunately, before she could do so, they were spotted by ISIS fighters. They were beheaded and buried in a mass grave, along with others who were killed.” 

At the time of the tragedy, says Representative Foley, the two older daughters, who are mentally handicapped, were staying with their relatives, and the youngest daughter, then 5 years old, was at home. She was later found sleeping under the bed. 

Representative Foley says that the three sisters now live with their grandmother and uncle, with the older two requiring constant care from the grandmother with support from a visiting Christian nurse.  

“Only the youngest sister is healthy, active, and capable of normal living,” says Representative Foley. “The two older girls do not attend school because they are unable to communicate appropriately. The middle sister could go to the daycare center in the village, but the mental condition of her older sister is so bad that she is not able to function without the middle sister being around.” The daycare center refused to admit the oldest girl due to her severe condition. Thus, both girls stay home and are cared for by their grandmother. 

“They call the grandmother a ‘warrior’ because she can barely walk and only has one functioning kidney, but she continues to care for their girls,” says Representative Foley. “The two younger girls help her with cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry, but they still need an adult woman at home to direct them.”  

Representative Foley says that during the recent fighting, the region where the sisters live was transformed from the home of peaceful demonstrations to a center of attacks from many sides: governmental, anti-governmental, IS, and international military forces.  

“During the civil war, it was challenging to be a Christian in every respect, as Christians experienced persecution from Muslim extremists,” says Representative Foley. “Now with the current situation in Syria—the fall of the Assad regime and the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—in control of the country, no one knows what the future holds for Syrian Christians.” The girls’ pastor told Voice of the Martyrs that while the situation looks frightening, “Christians are waiting to see what God will be doing in the background.” 

Voice of the Martyrs Korea became involved in supporting the family last year through its Polish sister mission. “The brother of the girls’ pastor is a Syrian refugee living in Poland who now pastors an Arabic church there,” says Representative Foley. “He told our sister Voice of the Martyrs mission about the situation of Christians in the area, and about the sisters.”  

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs volunteers who visited the family were shocked by the day-to-day reality of life for Christians in the region.  

“The volunteers reported that access to everyday necessities is highly restricted. Electricity gets turned on for two hours per day and two hours per night, and tap water is available only three days a week but only after midnight,” says Representative Foley. “Petrol and gas are also very limited. Medicine is hard to acquire, and all basic products are costly. Local people always seem nervous and stressed by these exhausting living conditions.” 

What concerned the Voice of the Martyrs volunteers the most, however, was that believers in the region felt left alone and forgotten by the global church. 

“That’s why our project focuses not only on giving practical aid to the girls but also on bringing very personal and spiritual support to them,” says Representative Foley. 

The local pastor personally purchases the groceries for the family each month, transports them to the grandmother’s home, and coordinates the help of the nurse. He told Voice of the Martyrs that although most Syrians are optimistic about the future under new leadership, Christians are facing serious difficulties in the present. 

“Some of our church members have already been beaten, just because they are Christians,” the pastor said. “All the MBBs [Muslim background believers—those who converted to Christianity from Islam] left our church because of fear [that] they will be immediately killed once someone discovers they are born again. Christians are being harassed on the streets in [the village], including me and some of the church members. We don’t know what to do but to stay and wait for God’s intervention.” 

The local pastor said that not only did police not help when he approached them, they took the side of the harassers. 

“Even the police, when I reported the incident, said: ‘We are trying to convert you, and you are free to refuse but we won’t stop preaching Islam in your neighborhood’,” the pastor told Voice of the Martyrs. “They send preachers wearing Afghani clothing from before the Middle Ages and shout to us to convert. Some of the ladies from our church started wearing a veil on the streets to avoid harassment, which we can’t oppose, but we don’t know what would happen in the future.” 

The local pastor told Voice of the Martyrs that many church members had already been dismissed from their jobs and replaced by unskilled jihadists. Girls are still permitted to attend school, he says, but students are separated by gender and girls are required to cover themselves with special clothing. 

As regards the three sisters and their family, they are thankful to the Lord for stability in the aftermath of the civil war. But as their pastor notes, “Stability today does not mean stability tomorrow.” The nurse who cares for the older sisters notes that the communication skills of the eldest sister were improving until the most intense local fighting of the civil war recently, when she began to experience panic attacks. 

As for the youngest sister, she is thankful to the Voice of the Martyrs ministries in Korea and Poland, and to her local pastor. “Thank you for your help. It’s really beneficial to our family. May God bless you.” 

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs provides assistance to family members of martyrs and families of Christians imprisoned because of their faith. Individuals interested in contributing to Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s Families of Martyrs/Families of Prisoners (FOM/FOP) fund can do so at www.vomkorea.com/en/donate or via electronic transfer to: 

국민은행 463501-01-243303 

예금주: (사)순교자의소리 

Please include the name “FOM/FOP” on the donation.