Film addresses Christians in Middle East

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The documentary film “Our Last Stand” will be featured at 4 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the McPherson Opera House, 219 S. Main St. in McPherson. A question and answer session will immediately follow. The event is free and open to the public.
In “Our Last Stand,” Helma, an Assyrian-American schoolteacher from New York, spends her summer vacation traveling to Iraq and Syria to help raise awareness about the plight of the Christian communities threatened by civil war and ISIS.

Helma’s journey takes her from refugee camps struggling to care for Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians who have fled ISIS in Northern Iraq, to the small militias helping to defend and retake villages from ISIS in the Nineveh Plains and Hasakah, Syria to Helma’s family’s hometown of Qamishli in Northern Syria. During her trip, Helma uncovers both heart-breaking and inspiring stories of grief, despair, persecution, courage and hope as she discovers what it means to sacrifice for her faith and community.

This first-of-its-kind documentary will inform westerners, especially Americans, about the existence of these ancient Christian communities (Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac), the threats they face and the crucial role these communities play in the Middle East. By building awareness, “Our Last Stand” will help American citizens, policy makers and others stand in solidarity with the persecuted.

http://www.mcphersonsentinel.com/news/20170106/film-addresses-christians-in-middle-east