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SYRIA: A RAY OF HOPE FOR DESPERATE FAMILIES
from FAITH ALIVE issue 11
by ACN Malta
Parishes and Religious Orders are delivering crucial aid provided by ACN for those who are suffering following the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey that happened in February 2023. Just a few days after the earthquakes hit, ACN opened an emergency fund to support Church partners in northern Syria helping victims of the natural disasters who desperately need help, now more than ever.
ACN supports Churches sheltering victims of the earthquakes with blankets and mattresses
Food Support for churches after the earthquakes
In Lattakia, north-west Syria, ACN is helping the Franciscans provide emergency assistance to 100 families made homeless by the earthquakes that hit on 6th February. Describing the situation in this port town, Fr Fadi Azar said:
Many families have been displaced out of their homes either because their houses are damaged, destroyed by the earthquakes, or because of the ongoing aftershocks which haven’t stopped till now. What is a necessity for us right now is to find at least the basic minimum ways to help these people who were already stressed by the civil war, ISIS, the pandemic and their dramatic effects.
The Franciscans are planning to provide help to the families for the next three months, including blankets, mattresses, pillows, food, milk and water. Governmentheld Lattakia is home to many displaced families who sought refuge from the civil war. There has been recent fighting in the area, despite it being in a de-escalation zone established by peace talks in 2017. Just days before the earthquakes hit, during military clashes in Jabal alAkrad, around 35 miles east of Lattakia, ten Syrian army soldiers and three fighters from Islamist rebel group Tahrir Al-Sham were killed on 4th February. ACN has also backed projects in Aleppo, which was one of the worst hit areas of Syria in terms of casualties. More than 360 people were killed. All the churches in Aleppo have opened their doors to those who lost homes or are scared of going back to their residences as they fear that they will collapse on them. The Mekhitarists – an Armenian Catholic Religious Order – are sheltering up to 2,000 people in the school they run in the city.
ACN is also supporting a project run by the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church to provide vital medicines. These families were already experiencing desperate needs, but such needs have increased drastically since the earthquakes began.
ACN is also supporting parishes, like Our Lady of the Annunciation, where another 450 families are regularly receiving aid in the form of blankets, medicines, food and milk. Fr Enrique González, who works in the parish, thanked ACN for its assistance. He said: “In light of the current tragic circumstances caused by the earthquakes in Syria, particularly in Aleppo – which has been classified as a devastated city – we are trying to cover as many basic needs as possible of these traumatised people, thanks to ACN’s help.”
