What If Refugee Children Would Be Coming from England, Instead?

A Save the Children video.

The refugee crisis isn’t just a story on the news – it’s happening here and it’s happening now. Please watch and share.
Donate now to our Child Refugee Crisis Appeal: http://save.tc/NHVD3002jgX

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Syrian priest: ‘No words to describe the suffering’

Amid the worst violence since the Syrian conflict began more than five years ago, a local Syrian Catholic archbishop has joined in raising attention to the situation facing Christians in the city of Aleppo.

Source: Syrian priest: ‘No words to describe the suffering’

Things are getting worse and worse on the Syrian front, because of our guilty indifference.

Bishop Angaelos on the US State Department Declaration of Genocide Against Religious Minorities in the Middle East

 

His Grace, Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Church

Statement by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom following the United States State Department declaration of Genocide for Christians, Yazidis, Shiite Muslims and other minorities in the Middle East

17 March 2016

We have received very welcomed but unexpected news today from the United States of America, through Secretary of State John Kerry, acknowledging that ISIS “is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control including Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Muslims”.

This announcement has come after individuals and organisations in the United States, some of which I have personally worked with, have advocated tirelessly to shed light on this important issue of human suffering and the violation of human dignity.

A View of Hell – 2016 Drone Aerial View of Homs, Syria

How could countries that see themselves as Christian close their doors to needy foreigners? | Lapido Media – Centre for Religious Literacy in World Affairs

SLOVAKIAN weekly newspaper editor Juraj Kusnierik offers a personal view of the crisis now engulfing the European Union.

Source: How could countries that see themselves as Christian close their doors to needy foreigners? | Lapido Media – Centre for Religious Literacy in World Affairs

This is an excellent article written by my Slovak friend Juraj Kušnierik.

 

The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained

Why is the refugee crisis all over the news? How is this related to Syria? Why should we care at all?

It’s Rare That I’m Speechless…My Photographs From Lebanon » Executing Ideas

It’s Rare That I’m Speechless…My Photographs From Lebanon » Executing Ideas.

You have to see these incredible photos.
Pray for Lebanon, and for Syrian and Palestinian refugees.

Kati Woronka – Dreams in the Medina

I recommend to you today a book. It is written by a friend. Not a close friend, but a friend nevertheless, and a lady I appreciate and respect a lot. It is a book about Syria and it is worth reading at this time when this country is a lot in the media. Find below the presentation of the book as you can find it on the Amazon website (the book also exists in KIndle form). And, please, remember Syria in your prayers.

Kati Woronka – Dreams in the Medina

From the heart of Syria, Dreams in the Medina is a coming-of-age tale which explores the aspirations, passions and tragedies of a group of young Syrian women, who on the surface seem to have nothing in common but who are brought together in the deepest of bonds as they study and live together at the University of Damascus.

Sectarian Aspects of Syrian Uprising

Sectarian Aspects of Syrian Uprising.

This new Sightings edition talks about shifts in the sectarian dimensions of the Syrian conflict. A most appropriate topic now when we enter the fourth year of deadly conflict that claimed the lives of over 150,000 people.

WVI – Our Uncertain Future: A Report Written by the Children of Syria

Meg Sattler, Regional Communications Manager, WVI Syria Crisis Response sits with a refugee family in Jordan

Many years from now, when we look back upon the Syrian conflict with a collective sense of grief, it will be the children we will think of first. As the violence enters its fourth year, an entire generation of children is suffering the brutal consequences of atrocities and global inaction. In neighbouring countries, more than 1.2 million children are struggling to survive as refugees; navigating insecurity, social tensions and educational barriers as they try to remain strong for themselves, their friends and their families.  

Pray for Syrian Children!

They have fled to Armenia because of the war in Syria and tell how it is to live in a country at war. “The war should stop. People should lead their normal life and those who want to return to Syria should be able to do that”, says Zheni, 16.

This video was produced by World Vision Armenia, in support of the world prayer initiative for Syrian children, now, at three years since the beginning of the conflict in Syria.

How Things Would Look Like if the Syrian War Would Take Place in the West

It is already THREE years since the war started in Syria, with millions in internal and external refugees, most of them women and children. Are you aware of this? Or it is too far away for you to even care about it?

Here is a little clip that tries to drive this reality closer to home, showing us – I have to say, in very sanitised images –  how things would look if the war took place, say, in Europe. Watch, think, and act! You may at least say a prayer, organise a vigil, sign a petition, give for the relief effort.

A young girl’s life gets turned upside-down in this tragic second a day video. Could this ever happen in the UK? This is what war does to children. Find out more HERE and HERE.

No Lost Generation – A Campaign for Syrian Children

Sign HERE the petition.

‘No Lost Generation’ is a comprehensive strategy designed to support the education and protection of children affected by the conflict in Syria, mobilizing resources and implementing critical initiatives on the ground to equip children with the skills and provide the psychological support needed for them to help shape a better, peaceful future for Syria and the region. The public campaign inspires advocates to be champions for the #childrenofsyria, drawing renewed attention to the need to stop the violence and suffering for children, ensure humanitarian access and respect for humanitarian law, and invest in protection, education and peacebuilding with children. Learn more HERE.

Brian O’Neel – Middle-East Christians. Faith Under Fire

Maloola, ancient Christian Aramaic city in Syria, which was plundered by rebel forces

Despite daunting challenges in predominantly Muslim societies, many followers of Jesus continue to bear brave witness to their faith.

SEDNAYA, Syria — Many know of the mythical Phoenix, the bird legend said to have the power to regenerate itself from the ashes of its predecessor in a Middle-Eastern desert. Given the incredible persecution faced by contemporary Christians in the same region, an analogy between the faithful in the Middle East and the mythological fowl might seem unlikely.

However, Christian leaders insist the Church in some Arab-speaking lands is indeed resurrecting out of the cinders of its burned houses of worship, the beheaded bodies of its faithful and the long-standing discrimination it has faced since Islam violently wrested this part of the world from Christendom, beginning in the seventh century.

World Vision – Special Day of Prayer for Syrian Refugees

Maaloula, the Aramaic City in Syria

n a remote village nestled in Syria’s picturesque Oalamoun mountains, resides a small Aramaic community. It is one of the last and it is devoted to preserving Aramaic: the language that Jesus spoke.

Protecting this 3000-year-old language has united Malulas residents: Christians and Muslims are like brothers in this town, says local resident Ibrahim Kamar. Whilst Mel Gibsons The Passion of Christ has revived interest in the language, fears that Aramaic is dying out continue. Malula, where the orphans must recite in Aramaic, is one of the last bastions for a language Mother Superior Savaf describes as a gift from God.

Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Syria’s Children: A Thank You Message

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our Syria appeal so far — on behalf of the children you’ve helped us reach with life-saving aid. Find out more about our Syria appeal at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/syria

World Watch Monitor – Christianity in Danger of Becoming Extinct in Its Birthplace

UK historian says Christians in Middle East are endangered species

Last month, World Watch Monitor released a report, Beyond Count, highlighting the alarming frequency with which Christians are fleeing the Middle East. Now a British historian has added his voice to those concerns.

By Dr. Jenny Taylor

Respected UK historian Tom Holland told a briefing in London this week that the world is watching the effective extinction of Christianity from its birthplace.

In an apocalyptic appraisal of the worsening political situation in the region, a panel of experts provided a mass of evidence and statistics for the end of the region’s nation states under the onslaught of militant Islam.

“In terms of the sheer scale of the hatreds and sectarian rivalries, we are witnessing something on the scale of horror of the European Thirty Years War,” said Holland.

First Person: Five Things I Learned in Syrian Refugee Camps

First Person: Five Things I Learned in Syrian Refugee Camps.

My Palestinian Christian friend Aziz Abu Sarah writes for National Geographic about the terrible crisis in Syria.

Maps of Syria In Conflict

Here are two maps that could help you understand a bit better the present situation in Syria.

Opinion Roundup: Should Syria’s Christians Be Our Top Priority? | Christianity Today

Opinion Roundup: Should Syria’s Christians Be Our Top Priority? | Christianity Today.

This is a tough and complicated matter.

Please pray for Christians in Syria.

Al-Bayda: anatomy of a war crime

Warning – this video contains extremely distressing images. In May this year the Syrian army entered a small town called al-Bayda and massacred at least 169 men, women and children. Channel 4 News met with the survivors.

World Vision – A Call to Prayer for Peace in Syria

On Sept 7, starting 7 pm until midnight at St Peter’s Square (Italy UTC + 01:00), Pope Francis asked each and every religious person and those against war to join him “gather together in prayer, in a spirit of penitence, to ask from God this great gift [of peace] for the beloved Syrian nation and for all the situations of conflict and violence in the world.”
Pope Francis, pontiff of the Roman Catholic church, has called on all people of faith, regardless of religious sect or affiliations, to observe Sept 7 as a global day of prayer and fasting for Syria  condoning the use of chemical weapons as a means to settle any domestic or international conflict.
IBT
Pope Francis

A letter from Trappist nuns in Syria: “Blood fills our streets, our eyes, our hearts” | Catholic World Report – Global Church news and views

A letter from Trappist nuns in Syria: “Blood fills our streets, our eyes, our hearts” | Catholic World Report – Global Church news and views.

Trappist Nuns in Syria about the war there.

Tim Costello – All we should be saying, is give peace a chancea chance

All we should be saying, is give peace a chance.

Rev. Tim Costell, CEO of World Vision Australia believes that his country has to use wisely its role in world affairs, by giving peace a chance in Syria. I could not agree more.

Pope Francis Calls for A Day of Fasting and Prayer for Syria on 7 September

(Photo, Associated Press)

The deteriorating drama of Syria inspired Francis to set aside Sept. 7 as a day of fasting and prayer for Syria.

Francis invited Catholics, other Christians, those of other faiths and non-believers who are `’men of good will” to join him that evening in St. Peter’s Square to invoke the `’gift” of peace for Syria, the rest of the Middle East and worldwide where there is conflict.

“The world needs to see gestures of peace and hear words of hope and of peace,” Francis said.

He said the prayer vigil in the square will last from 7 p.m. until midnight.

(Source, HERE.)

In which redemptive violence is a myth for Syria – Sarah Bessey

In which redemptive violence is a myth for Syria – Sarah Bessey.

Sarah Bessey is right.

US bonginh Syria would be another example of the failed myth of redemptice violence.

One Day for Syria’s Children: What else are you doing today?

I was there last week, in the Syrian refugee camps in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, with Dave Toycen, CEO of World Vision Canada, when this was filmed.

What a terrible sight! And the so-called civilised world (including its Christian part) seems to care very little about it. After all, they are all Arabs, and mostly Muslims, isn’t it?

What do you think would Jesus do about it?

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World Watch Monitor – Syrian Christians Caught in Crossfire

Summary

Syrian Christians are the victims of disproportionate violence and abuse as sectarian violence continues to engulf Syria, says a new report.

Christian women are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, while Christian men are facing pressure from both sides to join the battle, according to Vulnerability Assessment of Syria’s Christians, coordinated by the World Watch List’s Dennis Pastoor with analysis from political commentator Nicholas Heras.

The result, the report claims, is that Christians are scared to engage in public displays of worship, while proportionally more Christian refugees are leaving Syria than any other religious or ethnic group.

Vulnerability Assessment of Syria’s Christians acknowledges that many of the struggles facing Christians in Syria are shared by the entire population, but says Christians are “soft targets” and “particularly vulnerable” to some things, including hostility in refugee camps, targeting by Islamist groups and criminals, and confiscation of land.

More than two years have passed since the beginning of the civil war between President Bashar al-Assad’s government forces and the Free Syrian Army and the fight is increasingly taking the shape of a “jihad” against the Syrian government, writes Heras, as opposition forces are ever more “Islamized”.

Jeffrey Kaplan – Eating Hearts: A Terrorist Message for Hezbollah

The 9/11 attack, like all terrorist incidents, was a global message aimed at multiple audiences. That it is now seen as a generational moment may be attributed to a CNN camera crew which happened to be, by dint of luck, timing, or the will of God, in position to film the impact of the second jet striking the Twin Towers. The sixteen-second film clip, replayed by the international media for days, fixed the horror of the act in the minds of all who saw it.

Recently, another video went viral, likewise impacting a global audience. In a graphic sixteen-second clip, Khalid al-Hamad, a Sunni-Muslim, Syrian resistance leader, was filmed cutting the heart out of the body of a dead Syrian soldier and eating it, declaring that he would eat the hearts and livers of the enemy.

The video is grainy, gruesome, and possibly not originally intended for dissemination. The act itself was redolent of Islamic history and was understood in that context by Muslim audiences. Viewing this film, no Muslim could miss its religious connotations.