Cnewa (Catholic Near
East Welfare Association), the Pontifical Agency of the Congregation for
the Eastern Churches whose job it is to help and assist Middle Eastern
Christians, is very concerned about the Syrian situation. A real
humanitarian catastrophe is feared for the Christian communities of
Aleppo, the northern town the Islamic rebels are trying to conquer.
In Syria, there are a number of different Christian communities, scattered across a diverse political, religious and ethnic landscape. The Greek Orthodox community which is the largest Christian community in Syria, is primarily concentrated in the western parts of the country and in Damascus. That means they are based in areas currently controlled by the regime of President Bashar el Assad and his Alawite minority.
The Syriacs, who form the second largest Christian community in Syria, are primarily concentrated in an area east of the Euphrates River. They live in a large swathe of fertile land that is bordered by Kurdish majority areas in Turkey to the north and Iraqi Kurdistan to the east. Northeast Syria is mainly Kurdish and effectively autonomous today.
As for a majority of Catholics and Armenians, they are concentrated in Sunni-dominated middle Syria, principally in the Aleppo province, which is close to Turkey. The area is heavily infiltrated by the Free Syrian Army and has been the scene of intense fighting.
The UN has estimated that 300,000 Syrians have fled their country to find refuge outside the borders in neighbouring countries, but at the same time, the UN estimates that 1.5 million Syrians have fled their homes to seek refuge in other towns and districts within Syria.
Accordingly, the Christian population followed the same path to save their lives but none of the displaced Christian families have fled to refugee camps either in Turkey or Jordan. Some of them have found temporary safety havens in families and communities, both within Syria and Lebanon with whom they have cross-border connections and shared histories. However, as the host families’ ability to host becomes strained and refugees can no longer afford even the most basic rent, they will become more exposed as a refugee population and need immediate aid.
The major Syrian Christian displacement occurred as follows: in Homs, anti-government militants have expelled 90% of Christians and confiscated their homes by force. Sources cited that militants went door to door in the Homs neighborhoods of Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan, “forcing Christians to flee, without giving them the chance to take their belongings”. As a result 50,000 Christians, at least, had to flee their homes and to seek refuge in villages, the valley of Christians, Damascus and Tartous.
In Qusayr 15 kms from Homs, the Christian population estimated at around 10,000 persons also had to flee from their homes following an ultimatum from the military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba. Some mosques in the city have sent out the same message again, announcing from the minarets: "Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, which expires this Friday." The ultimatum, therefore, expired June 8, and spread fear among the Christian population.
In Rableh, which is a small village around 25 kms to the north of Homs, near Qusayr, that was primarily inhabited by 7,000 persons, 50% of them are Greek Catholic and the rest are Maronite, became the refuge for another 5,000 Christians displaced from Qusayr and at present the whole village with 12,000 Christians inside is under siege imposed by the rebels who wanted to enter the village and the government forces who in turn are imposing another siege on the rebels. The village has become a battlefield.
Even the eastern communities were not spared their share of violence. In Deir el Zor, around 500 Christian families left their homes following the acts of violence and threats against them by the opposition militants, finding refuge in Al Hassake a Kurdish majority town.
In Aleppo, the 2nd largest city in Syria, the situation of the large Christian population is still unclear as the fighting spreads from one neighbourhood to another, and no survey or statistics about displaced families are available yet. However, seeing the level of destruction and violence we expect to soon be faced with a real humanitarian catastrophe.
CNEWA-Pontifical Mission Beirut office launched an appeal to help the local Syrian Church to provide emergency help. Since then, more than 2300 families, 1517 children and 1000 displaced students have received 220 thousand dollars’ worth of aid.