the words of Brussels and Syria remain alone

Donor countries meet to talk about Syria, but the country and its “forgotten war” continue to suffer, the population fleeing (about 500 a day). For , the apostolic nuncio in Damascus speaks of a “stalled political process” while what is “progressing is poverty.” The exodus of Christians “another great wound that bleeds.”

Milan () – “This eighth conference in Brussels has two sides, like a medal: on the one hand it is very positive and satisfactory” because it is a sign of “international solidarity” that represents “a sip of water in the desert.” On the other hand, however, it seems disappointing” because in all this time, and years have passed, the situation “has changed little, unfortunately, poverty is increasing, political stagnation persists.” This is what the apostolic nuncio in Damascus, Card. Mario Zenari arrived a few hours after the donor countries met yesterday in the Belgian capital, wondering “how many conferences we still need” for the situation to change for the better and the country to emerge from the crisis. “The political process is stagnant – continued the cardinal – while what is moving forward and progressing is poverty: according to the latest UN statistics, in Syria there are 16.7 million people who need humanitarian aid, about three quarters of the population, which represents an increase of 9% compared to last year. Because of the war, 90% are forced to live below the poverty line.

Brussels conference: a failure?

The war in Syria, which has killed nearly half a million people and internally displaced about half of its pre-conflict population of 23 million, has long stalled, as have global efforts to find a lasting solution. . Meanwhile, millions of Syrians have fallen into poverty and struggle to find food, water or medicine. The UN hopes to raise more than $4 billion in life-saving aid for the 16.7 million internally displaced people or refugees in need in neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Last year, participants pledged $10.3 billion just months after the devastating earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria, of which only a portion was allocated. Furthermore, the tensions between Iran and the West and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in response to the October 7 attack, with the involvement of other actors (Houthi in the Red Sea and the consequences on trade) have turned Syria every once again in a “forgotten crisis.” Then there is the issue of refugees, mostly in Lebanon and Turkey – in addition to the millions of internally displaced people – who see their prospects of returning home diminished due to the lack of stability, both political and social. Furthermore, the conference itself has changed, with a decrease in participation, starting with the Russian delegation, a key ally of Bashar al-Assad, absent since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, and the Arab Gulf States themselves, once major financiers. , they invest less and less time and resources.

Card Zenari, who has been following Syrian affairs for years from the nunciature in Damascus, denouncing first the horrors of the conflict and then the “poverty bomb” that claims more victims than weapons, asks not to look at the nation “as a beggar.” ». On the contrary, she must be helped to “get up and walk on her own legs,” which is also “more dignified.” And to do this, we must talk about reconstruction, relaunching the economy, the industry, restarting or creating new factories: «I remember what Pope Paul VI said in 1967, that the new name for peace is development. The same thing happens here in Syria, where there can be no peace without development; Where there is misery, the conditions for peace cannot be created. We appreciate this international solidarity,” he emphasizes, referring to Brussels, but “a sip of water in the desert does not solve the problem of poverty. We must start with a political solution, because although we are grateful to the different conferences, they alone are not enough. That’s why I hope that this eighth will also be the last.”

Poverty and refugees

“Last March, Syria – the cardinal recalled – entered its 14th anniversary of war, ignored by the media and by the international community itself”, with 90% of the population “below the poverty line: Everyone agrees that the situation has become tougher than during the war years. There is a lack of electricity in most of Syria, many people have an average of two hours of electricity a day; healthcare and schools are a disaster; infrastructure is needed; The economy is sinking and people are looking for alternative solutions. Those who can”, Card. Zenari – try to escape, the only way out of this tunnel, especially for highly qualified young people” who are looking for “a way to cross borders and go abroad.”

Another emergency factor is the refugees: “It is said that the war has caused nearly half a million deaths, among them 29,000 children and minors,” says the apostolic nuncio, “and about 12 million, just over half of the population prior to the conflict, forced to flee their homes, neighborhoods and towns. According to UN statistics, there are seven million internally displaced people and about five million in neighboring countries. This exodus has caused a new emergency, especially in Lebanon, which is “a small country with a small population and a disproportionate number of refugees,” says the Vatican diplomat. “This is also a serious and urgent problem,” he continues, “but we don’t know how to solve it.” The UN refugee agency affirms that there are still no conditions for a voluntary, dignified and safe return, meanwhile people are beginning to lose hope: after the numerous victims, we are witnessing the very death of hope, people “It no longer has faith in the future” to the point that, according to the latest estimates, it is estimated that “about 500 people a day try to leave Syria by any means, usually young and qualified.”

Syrian Christians

Like and more than the majority of Syrians, because they represent a small minority, Christians also suffer the consequences of the conflict and poverty that has spread throughout the country and has affected various layers of the population. A community that has paid the price in human lives, exoduses, forced disappearances – among the more than 100,000 missing in the air are the Italian Jesuit Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio and the two bishops, Syrian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox, of Aleppo, to name just a few – and voluntary escapes across the border. It is “another great wound that bleeds in the heart of Syria.” Therefore, for Christians, Pope Francis’ announcement that martyrs of DamascusFranciscans and three Maronites, will be proclaimed saints: their testimony, says the cardinal, is “current” in the way of remembering and representing “those who have suffered in various ways in this conflict and for the faith.”

Syria is ‘also very important from the point of view of Christianity’, because in addition to having given the Christian name to Antioch, today a Turkish territory, it is the land to which Saint Paul and the appearances of the resurrected Christ are linked. And furthermore, in the first seven centuries it gave the Church six popes and four emperors, which confirms its importance “from both the Christian and cultural and political points of view,” underlines the Card. Zenari. Finally, there is the aspect linked to tourism “which was increasing” before the conflict, also thanks to “archaeological finds that date back four or five thousand years” and which also supported the Christian community, while today “it is a “It’s a tragedy to see them leave.” Furthermore, he recalls, “in conflicts, minority groups are always the weakest link in the chain,” which is an additional detriment when they represent “an open window to the world.” Just think,” he concludes, »of its contribution in the cultural sphere, in the educational sphere with the schools, in the healthcare sphere with the hospitals, and also in the political sphere. This is also a very deep wound for the Churches, which have seen the departure to more than half of its faithful, and for Syrian society itself.

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