Thursday 26 June 2014

Photo of Syrian refugee child, Deir al Ahmar, Lebanon

Border report from Lebanon

The Damascus to Beirut road is remarkably busy - despite three bombings in five days in or near Beirut.  The Lebanese security forces have caught bombers and potential bombers, foiling major attacks. The check points have been increased and strengthened. Yet, this is almost nothing compared to the stories of those coming out of Syria.

This evening I spoke with two priests from  Syria and some of their family members. One priest said that two of his brothers, Elias and Andrew, had been seized two years ago and that nothing had been heard of them since. A couple who had fled Homs spoke of how some Christians within Syria had started moving back to the Homs district, but that bombings still continue in the centre of Homs despite the city being reclaimed by Assad's forces. Other reclaimed Christian towns are similar - such as Maaloula, where there have been explosions since it was retaken from fundamentalist Islamists who had destroyed so much of the town.

The other priest I spoke to had just arrived in Beirut from Damascus. He told me: "It is so very difficult to live, to exist...to survive. Even today we had attacks....everyday there are at least eight or twelve bomb attacks."

I listened and could hardly find words to say. All I could do was to assure them of daily prayers for them.  I added that we at Aid to the Church in Need are standing with them...and that we would continue to be with them to help rebuild faith and hope when peace breaks through the madness of conflict.

Bishop Nabil Chucrallah El Hajj asked in Tyre (Sour) earlier today: "Please pray first - and above all...pray, please, that Christians can build peace in this region. Christians are paying a heavy price in this the Holy Land where Our Lord, his Mother and his disciples came. Thank you for all you do - we need you at ACN and all our Christian brothers and sisters to sustain the Church."

Neville Kyrke-Smith
National Director ACN UK

Beirut, Lebanon
26.06.14

Wednesday 25 June 2014

Lebanese Christians caring for traumatised and despairing refugees

I stood in the crowded corridor of the St Antoine, Dispensary, Roueisset, near Beirut. Small children cuddled up sitting on their mother's knees, waiting for vital inoculations. The families waiting at this busy centre are mostly Syrian but I spoke to a young Iraqi mother, with her three children. Sr Hanan, who runs the Dispensary, told me that  more Iraqis have   arrived in the last few weeks - after the frightening outbreak of conflict in Iraq. Now, too, more Lebanese mothers are coming to this clinic - as they are poor, due to prices increasing for housing and as many jobs have been taken by Syrians who work for cheaper wages.

As I squeeze my way out of the Dispensary, a terrified teenage girl from Aleppo is sobbing uncontrollably - shaking and muttering to herself, her mother tries to comfort her as she leads her in to see the psychiatrist. Sr Hanan explains that there are so many cases - children, teenagers and adults -  who need help and trauma counselling after what they have seen, lived through and suffered.

Later in the day, in the Bekaa Valley near Baalbeck - where Hezbollah is visibly present -  I meet Syrian refugees in their tents on a camp site at Deir Al Ahmar. One deaf man, Abed, is living with wife, Adla, six daughters and four boys in their basic tent. I sit on a cushion talking with the family. There is a shortage of water, after a dry winter, and the conditions are barely survivable. Adla tells me: "It is not a life here. My husband is deaf and cannot work. The state helped us in Syria, but we receive nothing here. We want to go back when we can... but now we need help."

Sr Micheline and all the Good Shepherd Sisters are working with a small group of people to help. Aid to the Church in Need and others are supporting their work of compassion at this crucial time. Sr Micheline thanked all who help - and, as she stood in front of a picture of the Good Shepherd, painted by a Muslim, she added: "We, and all the children, pray for you who give us food and medicine and help fund activities for the children. May the Good Shepherd bless you!"                                      

Neville Kyrke-Smith
National Director of ACN UK

Beirut, Lebanon, 25.06.14

Photo attached of Abed & Aldo's family with refugees in Deir al Ahmar