MODESTO —
“Yeah my brother in law was among them, his son and his two children, they’re among the one who were captured,” said Romel David, “And I just ask for everyone to pray. To pray for our Assyrian nation our people that are in harm’s way.”
David says his brother-in-law used to live in Modesto, and was a car salesman.
But two years ago he left to find his son, his son’s wife and their children, as well as other family members in order to bring them back to the United States and out of harm’s way.
David does not want their names released, because he fears the ISIS militants who are holding them will discover he’s an American citizen.
The 59-year-old man and 11 other family members were among the group of Christians taken by ISIS on Tuesday in northeastern Syria.
David says a man from the village called his brother-in-law’s wife to tell the family what had happened. No one has heard from them since.
While they pray for this family tonight, the Assyrian community here as a whole says they’re extremely upset they are still being persecuted in 2015.
“It literally is a modern day genocide. Unfortunately since 1915, we have had a religious and ethnic cleaning in the Middle East. Us Assyrians have been targeted and persecuted and it’s very unfortunate that we’re commemorating 100 yeasr and still in a genocide,” said Suzan Younan, Volunteer Gishru.
