21 Egyptians. Beheaded by ISIS.

On January 3^rd, around 2 a.m. in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte, masked gunmen banged on the door of a dormitory for Egyptian workers. “We came for the Christians. Stay away,” the kidnappers yelled. This, according to Milad Ibrahim, 27, who witnessed the abduction of his two cousins behind closed doors from a dormitory next door.

His cousins were among the thirteen of 21 Egyptian Christians, who were recently beheaded by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Libya and came from the village of Al-Aour in the Egyptian governorate of Minya.

When the video of the beheading recently went viral on the internet, it also reached the residents of Al-Aour.. Screams of women and children echoed throughout the village. However, amidst sadness for their loss, many of the villagers expressed joy over the killing of their relatives.  The images on the video were certainly a shock to the victims’ relatives, but they later evoked different images of martyrdom and heroism.

“I am happy for my relatives. They had faith in God. They had faith in Jesus Christ. And that is what matters. They died for their faith. They died for Christianity,” said Bishop Feloubes Fawzy, 43, who lost his nephew and four of his cousins in the recent massacre.

The 21 victims were laborers who travelled to Libya to earn enough money to feed their families. Most Egyptian laborers travel to Libya using public transportation or private vehicles. The distance between Minya to Sirte is nearly 1,200 miles and requires a full day of travel.  According to Shenouda Shokry, an Egyptian farmer who went to Libya twice for work and who is the brother of Youssef Shokry, one of the 21 killed by ISIS, Egyptian workers initially have to pay an average of EGP 8,000 (around $1,050 USD) to obtain the Libyan visa, including a round-trip airplane ticket.

In honor of the victims, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced his support for the building a new church for their relatives of the village Al-Aour, which has a population of an estimated 2,500 Christians out of a total of 6,000 residents.

Relatives of slain laborer Gerges Samir, 20 and Malak Ibrahim, 25. Boules is their uncle (left) and Milad is their cousin who worked with Gerges and Malak in Libya and witnessed their abduction by ISIS (right). “On the 28th of December 2014, we got a phone call from our friends informing us that they have been kidnapped – it was only 10 seconds. Later Gerges, Malak and I decided to go back to Egypt. A few days later Gerges and Malak were abducted by ISIS along with other 11 Egyptian Christians. That night, I heard gunmen stepping into their dormitory but I couldn’t do anything. I was unarmed. Gerges travelled all the way to Libya to be able to pay for his brother’s university. That is why his death was painful to his brothers more than any other person,” said Milad.

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Bishop Botrous, uncle of slain laborer Mina Fayez, 23. “Our Orthodox church is a great church. Our church was build by the blood of martyrs. Throughout history, it has always brought heroes and martyrs to the world. I was shocked when I heard the news. But I was definitely happy for my nephew. He’s a martyr,” said Shehata.

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Fifi, daughter of slain laborer Maged Shehata, 41. “My father died like a lion. He did not bow his head down. ISIS has no religion or mercy. I am now from the city of the martyrs. The city of the brave lions. May god forgive the killers. We don’t have hatred towards them – this is Christianity. God forgives the sinners, so shall we,” said Fifi.

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Mona, mother of slain laborer Kirollos Boushra, 23. “Kirollos always wanted to be a bishop. He is even better now. He is a martyr. He travelled to Morocco and Libya after he finished his military service in Egypt. He wanted his family to have a better life,” said Mona.

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Bishop Felobous, relative of five slain laborers; uncle of Kirollos Boushra, 23 and cousin of Maged Shehata, 41, Youssef Shokry, 23, Abanoub Atiya, 24 and Hany Abdel-Messih, 32. “Their leaving is painful. But we are not sad. We are proud of our martyrs. I congratulate ISIS. God is using them to bring martyrs to the world. Everything happens for a reason. I was very sad when I heard the news of the air strikes lead by the Egyptian military against ISIS. God asked us to even love our enemies,” said Felobous.

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Magda, wife of slain laborer Hany Abdel-Messih, 32. “My husband is in heaven. He’s now with Jesus Christ. Before he went to Libya, he used to go to church on a daily basis. We lost him. We lost his love. We did not deserve him. He was an angel,” said Magda.

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Son and daughters of of Hany Abdel-Messih, 32. Bakhoumis, 6 (left), Marina,12 (center) and Refka, 7 (right)

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Tereza, mother of slain laborer Youssef Shoukry, 23.  “Youssef was a farmer and a carpenter. He thought he would be a kind working in Libya. That party happened. He is a kind in heaven,” said Tereza.

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Zeez, mother of slain laborers Samuel Istafanous, 21 and Beshoy Istafanous, 23. “Samuel and Beshoy called me one day before they were abducted and asked me to cook their favorite food. They were planning to get back to Egypt. Each one of them went to Libya once he finished his military service in Egypt,” said Zeez.

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Citizens of Al-Aour village and relatives of slain laborers chant at Al-Aour church. Portraits of the victims can be seen in the center.

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Citizens of Al-Aour village and relatives of slain laborers chant at Al-Aour church.

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Al-Aour church