By 1 pm last Friday almost every Christian in Mosul had heard the message that they had until noon on Saturday to leave the city. Men, women and children piled into neighbours’ cars. Some begged for rides to the city limits and hoped to get taxis to the nearest Christian villages. They took nothing more than the clothes on their backs. The order from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came after Christians decided not to attend a meeting that ISIS had arranged for Thursday night to discuss their status. They were too afraid to go. Since Saddam Hussein was ousted, Mosul's Christians have one of the oldest communities of its kind in the world, has seen their numbers dwindle from over 30,000 to just a few thousand. However, once ISIS swept into the city in early June there were reports that the remaining Christians had fled. Friday's edict was probably the real end. While a few may still find a way to stay in secret, the community will be gone.