“We feel that we are alone”: the priest echoes the pain of the Christian community after the Damascus attack last Sunday.
“Christians in Syria are feeling a great pain. The Christian community throughout Syria is going through a moment of deep sadness: the loss of 30 Christians who died in this attack. So far, there are 54 wounded.” This is what Father Fadi Azar, a Franciscan priest in Syria, said in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The Syrian priest stated that the situation is becoming increasingly difficult for non-dominant religious groups… “Every time the Church speaks with the government, they say it’s an isolated incident. Until this serious moment arrived that has ‘touched’ all of Syria.”
Father Fadi has made a call for the defense of human rights in Syria: “We have faith, we are not afraid. The persecution of Christians in the Middle East, in the Holy Land, has always existed. There has been persecution for 2,000 years. But we are in this civil world, where human rights are defended. We want only justice, justice, nothing more. Christians have the right to live in a country where there is security, so they can go to church and pray in peace.”
The priest, who lives in Latakia but spent many years in Damascus, spoke about the uncertain time Syria is facing and the suffering of Christians after last Sunday’s attack. On this point, he highlighted that there have been suffering repetitive aggressions. “For example, shootings outside of churches in Homs or in Hama. There are also kidnappings, and many Christians are losing their jobs,” he said to ACN.
In this regard, commenting on the instability in the country since the change in government, the priest recalled what happened in March. “In March, here in Latakia, many Alawites were killed,” referring to violent scene of massacres against the Alawite community in the villages east of Latakia, in the coastal region of the country. “And now,” he continues, “for the first time in Syria’s history, since 1860, something like this happens: they enter the church and kill many people during Mass, during prayer, on Sunday at six in the evening.”
The Syrian priest stressed that, in this context, Christians are not the only ones who are afraid: “the Alawites, the Druze…it’s a persecution.” Regarding the alleged perpetrators of last Sunday’s attack on the Dweila Church in Damascus, there are different versions surrounding their identity. Father Fadi said: “Somebody claims that it was the group Ansar al-Sunna, which bears the flag of Daesh. Before, they were all in Idlib.” He further emphasized: “It’s a danger, not only for Christians but also for Druze or Alawites, and even for moderate Muslims… They are very dangerous (…). They don’t want a civil government; they want a fanatical Islamist terrorist government.”
As for whether this attack was unexpected for the population, the priest said that in a way they had expected something like this for months: “There were threats, many threats. It was expected, but no one knew when (…). Last week, they shot outside of a church in Homs, the Syriac Orthodox church, where a man shot at the church door.”
According to local social media, another aggression happening today, 26 June, when individuals on motorbikes reportedly opened fire in front of the church in Latakia, and tragically, one person was killed. The Greek Orthodox Diocese in Latakia denied news regarding the death of the church guard, confirming that the victim has no relations to the church and that the attack took place outside of the church.
International protection
Regarding the current state of the local Christian community, the Syrian priest explained that “all Christians feel great sorrow. We feel that we are alone now. We are asking for the intervention of the Vatican, of the European Community…” and he continued: “People are now telling us, ‘Father, we don’t want aid, we don’t want food, medicine, nothing. Help us escape. We can’t live here. We are afraid for our lives; we are afraid for the future of our children.’”
In this context, the number of Christians in Syria continues to decline: “All these years ago, before the war, Christians made up 10% of the population. Now we are 3%. And probably, this summer, many more Christians will leave,” he said to ACN.
By Blanca Tortosa.
