{"id":10202,"date":"2015-07-24T08:54:50","date_gmt":"2015-07-24T08:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=10202"},"modified":"2015-07-24T08:54:50","modified_gmt":"2015-07-24T08:54:50","slug":"this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d &#8211; Daniel Konstantinovic"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><p>This August 6<sup>th<\/sup> will mark the one-year anniversary of the most tragic day in the lives of a number of Dominican sisters currently serving in Iraq, who suffered and faced on one day challenges that many will not face in a lifetime. These sisters remained resolute in their faith and mission despite the bloodshed, heartbreak and tragedy that they witnessed on that fateful day and in the months following.<\/p>\n<p>Hearing bombs in the distance was not an uncommon occurrence for these sisters and their communities given the conflict that was happening nearby between Iraqi-Kurdish forces and IS. \u201cIn the morning we heard the bombs,\u201d Sister Lyca explained. \u201cWe thought it was normal because there was a clash between the two parties.\u201d What was not normal, however, was what happened next. \u201cAt ten o\u2019clock in the morning there were bombs that fell in village,\u201d Sister Lyca said. \u201cThree people died: two children and a young girl. It was terrible news.\u201d Diana, another sister, explained that the young girl who had been killed was recently engaged.<\/p>\n<p>Many began to flee the village after the bombing, but the sisters stayed, feeling they had to provide support to the people and hoping that this instance would be like previous ones, where the threat only lasted a few short days. They also felt safe due to the protection of Peshmerga, the Kurdish forces, who had sworn to protect them. \u201cWe put all of our trust in Peshmerga because they promised to protect us. Up until the last minute we were so certain that they would defend us,\u201d Sister Diana said. \u201cBut when we saw them taking their uniforms off, we knew that the time of danger had finally arrived.\u201d Abandoned by their protectors and completely defenseless, the sisters decided to leave their convent in Qaraqosh and march with the other thousands of refugees with only half an hour to pack their things. \u201cWe were panicked when they told us ISIS had gotten into the roads, so many people left with even their nightgowns on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe distance between Erbil and Qaraqosh is one hour. We made it in 10 hours because there was a huge traffic jam,\u201d Sister Lyca said. The sisters marched alongside tens of thousands of other refugees fleeing the impending attack from IS. \u201cFrom 11:30 at night to the next morning we marched without any food or water,\u201d Sister Diana said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about August when the heat is unbearable: 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) with no water.\u201d Alongside the heat exhaustion and dehydration the sisters and others dealt with were a number of horrible sights that left powerful impressions on the sisters. \u201cWhen we got into the streets we saw thousands and thousands of people marching, cars and people walking,\u201d Sister Diana said. \u201cCars meant for five people held eight to ten. We heard children shouting and crying, very afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One sight in particular burned itself into the memories of the sisters. \u201cWhen we passed a checkpoint, there was an ambulance behind us,\u201d Sister Lyca said. \u201cWe heard that there were five Islamists in the car, and the army began to fire on the car and on other cars. We saw people walking, running, and taking their children. Mothers took their children and threw them into our car to save their lives. It was a time that I cannot forget. It was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The refugee camps in Erbil were a tragic sight to the sisters as well. \u201cWhen we got here, it was even more horrible to see people scattered everywhere like sheep without a shepherd,\u201d Sister Diana said. \u201cSome of these people left mansions. They had so much. So much, and in just a few hours they became homeless. We began to realize that our displacement might not take days, but it could take years and years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unwilling to leave the people in this state, the Church stepped forward to provide aid. Churches were opened on the second day for refugees to stay in. Sisters began teaching the children and providing what education they could, some even taking on classes of hundreds of students like Sister Ban did.<\/p>\n<p>Yet despite these selfless efforts, the Church and the refugees struggle on a spiritual level. \u201cWe lost our dignity here. We have been humiliated in so many ways,\u201d Sister Diana said. \u201cWe are living day-by-day, but the fact is that deep down, this is not the way that human beings should live. We\u2019re living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage. We don\u2019t have the power or strength to stretch our wings where we want.\u201d Though they have worked hard to provide education for children, they fear it is not enough. \u201cOur kids come to school for two or three hours a day. It\u2019s nothing. Our college students are deprived from school. As Christians, we love education. What ISIS is doing to us is killing a new generation, because if this generation does not get educated, neither will the next one.\u201d On top of this, hospitals lack the facilities to deal with all their patients, and there are concerns that the aid coming in may not be enough to last. \u201cTo the government and even the United Nations, we\u2019re just numbers. We\u2019re not considered as human beings,\u201d Sister Diana said.<\/p>\n<p>The sisters remain hopeful, however, and keep their faith in God. \u201cWe have brought all these things into our prayers,\u201d Sister Huda said. \u201cThis is my faith. God <em>is<\/em> with us. God saved us when we came here. We want to thank all the people who think of us and who are helping us.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Konstantinovic.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-1.w0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10205 \" src=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-1.w0-684x1024.jpg\" alt=\"photo-1.w0\" width=\"536\" height=\"802\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-3w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10208\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-3w-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"photo-3w\" width=\"685\" height=\"458\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-4w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10209\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-4w-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"photo-4w\" width=\"686\" height=\"459\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This August 6th will mark the one-year anniversary of the most tragic day in the lives of a number of Dominican sisters currently serving in Iraq, who suffered and faced on one day challenges that many will not face in a lifetime. These sisters remained resolute in their faith and mission despite the bloodshed, heartbreak&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d - Daniel Konstantinovic - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d - Daniel Konstantinovic - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This August 6th will mark the one-year anniversary of the most tragic day in the lives of a number of Dominican sisters currently serving in Iraq, who suffered and faced on one day challenges that many will not face in a lifetime. These sisters remained resolute in their faith and mission despite the bloodshed, heartbreak...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-24T08:54:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"734\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"490\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ACN Malta Media\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ACN Malta Media\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d - Daniel Konstantinovic - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-24T08:54:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-07-24T08:54:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/3c01ab68e03f1b76347f9f6ac439a9d2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg\",\"width\":734,\"height\":490},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d &#8211; Daniel Konstantinovic\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/\",\"name\":\"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\",\"description\":\"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/3c01ab68e03f1b76347f9f6ac439a9d2\",\"name\":\"ACN Malta Media\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93fb625be2ad6b7f825159f4ef11b098?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93fb625be2ad6b7f825159f4ef11b098?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ACN Malta Media\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/author\/admin2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d - Daniel Konstantinovic - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d - Daniel Konstantinovic - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)","og_description":"This August 6th will mark the one-year anniversary of the most tragic day in the lives of a number of Dominican sisters currently serving in Iraq, who suffered and faced on one day challenges that many will not face in a lifetime. These sisters remained resolute in their faith and mission despite the bloodshed, heartbreak...","og_url":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/","og_site_name":"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)","article_published_time":"2015-07-24T08:54:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":734,"height":490,"url":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"ACN Malta Media","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ACN Malta Media","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/","url":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/","name":"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d - Daniel Konstantinovic - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg","datePublished":"2015-07-24T08:54:50+00:00","dateModified":"2015-07-24T08:54:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/3c01ab68e03f1b76347f9f6ac439a9d2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/photo-2w0.jpg","width":734,"height":490},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2015\/07\/24\/this-is-not-the-way-that-human-beings-should-live-we-are-living-but-its-like-living-in-a-cage-daniel-konstantinovic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cThis is not the way that human beings should live. We are living, but it\u2019s like living in a cage\u201d &#8211; Daniel Konstantinovic"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#website","url":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/","name":"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)","description":"Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/3c01ab68e03f1b76347f9f6ac439a9d2","name":"ACN Malta Media","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93fb625be2ad6b7f825159f4ef11b098?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93fb625be2ad6b7f825159f4ef11b098?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ACN Malta Media"},"url":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/author\/admin2\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}