ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan — Touma Youssef, an Iraqi Christian known as Abu Finan, stood for the first time in 2½ years before the front door of his house in the town of Karemlash, east of Mosul.

Sadness filled his eyes as he looked at what was left. Abu Finan, after retiring from the Department of Agriculture in Ninevah province, had spent his time enjoying his own garden, planting various types of flowers and trees.

Now his garden is gone. Islamic State (IS) fighters destroyed it when they took control of the area in mid-2014 and turned his house into a military base. They wrecked the furniture and looted the family's belongings. When the Iraqi army liberated the town on Oct. 24, all that was left in Abu Finan's house was a mess, and walls filled with slogans inciting violence against Christians.

“I returned home with my wife to clean it and try to repair the damages. I brought along several workers to clean the garden. We are getting ready to return home now. … We insist on coming back despite everything and despite all the circumstances,” he told Al-Monitor.