For the testimony of Fr. Bahjat Karakach from the northern city now controlled by opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. The anti-Assad front targets Hama, while in the conquered territories it promises protection to minorities. The parish is the distribution point for aid, but resources are limited. A people “exhausted by years of suffering and stagnation.”
Aleppo () – The fear of bombings is giving way to the “danger of hunger”, a “real” drama for the population in a situation of growing need “even though bread continues to be distributed in the streets.” This is what Father Bahjat Karakach, parish priest of the church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Aleppo, tells , in a testimony based on the last “similar” days in which “the sky remained calm” without the incessant rain of missiles. or cannon shots. And this, he adds, “somewhat calms the frightened population,” whose biggest concern now is looking for food to put on the table with “food prices” that have now “skyrocketed,” while needs and shortages grow every day. once again.
Faced with the advance of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Hts) militias, formerly affiliated with the al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda emanation in Syria), the situation on the ground still seems uncertain both in the areas under their control, like Aleppo, like in Hama, where the battle is now concentrated. The leadership of the opposition movement has ensured moderation in the management of the conquered territories, guaranteeing space – and protection – to minorities, including Christians, Kurds and Alawites. A commander from Ahrar al-Sham, another ultra-conservative rebel group, called for unity and protection of Christians and Armenians, who continue to prepare for Christmas celebrations by praying in churches, although guarantees will have to be evaluated in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, in Hama, the rebels have been trying to enter the city for two days, until now contained by the government army thanks also to the support of Russian incursions. Earlier, state media had reported that forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad had repelled an attack, as intense fighting between the sides continued. The area has remained in government hands throughout the conflict, which broke out in 2011, and is considered a pro-Assad stronghold. Its eventual fall would be a serious blow to Damascus (and its allies in Moscow and Tehran). The city is more than a third of the way between Aleppo and the capital, and its capture would open the advance towards Homs, a crossroads between Syria’s most populated regions.
“Our church,” explains Father Bahjat Karakach, “has become a well-known distribution point in the neighborhoods, but the increase in the number of people asking for food puts us in difficulties because our possibilities are limited. And it is a cause of great sadness – he adds – that we cannot feed everyone. In this context of extreme need, the «poverty bomb» and «hunger» evoked repeatedly in the past by the apostolic nuncio to Syria, card. Mario Zenari, “the priority – he explains – is to feed the children and the elderly.”
Added to this are the other basic needs of daily life, which are often lacking, such as “electricity”, which is not available “for many hours.” However, the positive news these days “is the availability of sufficient gasoline, obviously for those who have money in their pockets, because a liter,” says the priest, “costs almost a tenth of an average salary.” “The employees were unlucky,” he adds, “because at the end of November they could not collect their salaries, and now they have to make do until the problem of their employment is resolved.”
“The opposition forces,” continues the testimony confided to by Father Bahjat, “are working hard to normalize life in the city, and it is easy to see how concerned they are to give a new image of themselves to the world around them. He watches them these days.” The anti-government forces that have taken control of Aleppo, he continues, “send messages of tolerance and civilization, create security commissions, make themselves available for any request, etc.” “They have begun to clean the streets,” he emphasizes, “of the garbage that had accumulated and bring supplies of various kinds in an attempt to meet the needs of a large city like Aleppo and all its inhabitants.”
In what was the economic and commercial capital of Syria, in addition to having long been the heart and epicenter of the conflict in its darkest phase between 2014 and 2016, ‘winds of change are blowing’ in the city. Nothing definitive, but enough to bring “some hope,” explains the priest, “to a people exhausted by years of suffering and stagnation,” although all of this “is still not enough to reassure people: some continue to wonder what is wrong.” correct, whether to leave or stay,” explains the parish priest of the Church of San Francisco.
The most widespread fear is that “the fire of battle” could “soon be rekindled” in the city. «What if there were bombings against civilians? “What if the tolerance shown today turned into discriminatory laws tomorrow?” the inhabitants of Aleppo continue to ask themselves, for questions that at the moment do not seem to have an answer.
“All of these are legitimate questions,” the priest concludes in his reflection, “that people ask with insistence and concern, questions to which no one knows how to answer at the moment. All hope is placed on these events being a real opportunity for a definitive political solution, and until this is achieved, what remains is the fear and sense of danger with which the people of Aleppo have been living for years.
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