【慈幼通訊社 ─ 2023 年2月 14 日叙利亞阿勒頗訊】 ─ 在阿勒頗慈幼會會院避難的生還者，對地震場面仍猶有餘悸。慈幼慶禮院策勵者Joelle Klzi，道出這些生還者感受的寫照：「我們經歷逾十年的戰事，然而今次這些場面，也許是我們所經歷的最可怖的場面……我們無法描述我們所經歷的。」雖然如此，也有人以強大的復原能力，從如此可怖的場面，向他們提供種種援助的人士道謝，例如鮑思高的神子。一名來自阿勒頗的年輕女子Judy Elia說：「慈幼會士敞開他們的大門，我們一無所缺……我們由衷感謝他們，除了物質上的支援外，還有精神上的支援。」
自2月6日起，慈幼會中東少年耶穌（Jesus Adolescents）會省(MOR)，已連續多天，搜集在阿勒頗「鮑思高」中心收容的青年生還者的見證。從他們的說話中，流露出地震發生第一時間的恐懼心情，同時也道出一份團結的經歷，以及在慈幼會懷抱中得到庇護的感受。
例如，小Micho講述說：「這是恐怖的地震：我們在惶恐中起來，等待震動停止，因為牆壁快要倒下。我們下到地面，落著大雨，而我們就在屋外睡覺。然而現在我並不恐懼，因為我在『鮑思高』與朋友一起玩耍。」
年輕的牙醫Judy Elia分享說：「地震發生時我們還在床上，不一會我們便下到街上。我們沒有帶走任何東西。我們只顧逃生，遠離房屋。我們尋找遠離建築物的空曠地方，情況非常惡劣，因為正在下雨……。自從地震之日起，我們便在這裡。慈幼會士敞開大門，我們一無所缺。他們向我們提供毛氊、床墊及一日三餐……我們由衷感謝他們，除了物質上的支援外，還有精神上的支援。」
一名主婦Nadia Ebed說：「我們所經歷的太多了！我們赤腳走到街上，在雨中奔走，衣服不足以禦寒……這種情況從清晨4時一直持續到早上7時，我們很驚慌。」她對所經歷的苦況仍然記憶猶新。然而『阿勒頗鮑思高』向我們提供支援。」她總結時說：「我們和很多人都受到接待。」
在慈幼會士及協作者的幫助下，一名醫科學生Stephanie Sultanem目前在慈幼慶禮院中工作。他說：「在地震發生後，我們建立一個藥物收集處，為我們之中眾多人民服務。這對他們很有幫助，因為很多人逃離家園，無法取得藥物，也因為安全問題，無法返回家園。」
今天在叙利亞數以千計人民要面對的考驗，的確十分嚴峻。Joelle Klzi在講話結束時說：「我不知道他們對前景有多大希望，尤其在經歷長年戰爭之後。」
然而，他總結時說：「我只知道上主從無可避免的死亡中拯救了我們。」
上述及其他人士的見證，已刊載於「慈幼通訊社頻道」的特別播放清單中。
Fear, solidarity, commitment: earthquake as told by young people in Aleppo
(ANS – Syria–Aleppo, 14 February 2023) – It is a microcosm of humanity still in shock, the one surviving and taking refuge in the Salesian house in Aleppo. “We have lived through more than 10 years of war, but perhaps these moments are the most terrible because of the terror we’ve experienced… We cannot describe what we have experienced,” says Joelle Klzi, animator of the Salesian oratory. Yet these are also people with great resilience, who manage to find even in this situation the ability to thank those who have done so much for them, such as the Sons of Don Bosco. “The Salesians have opened their doors; we have not lacked anything… We thank them from the bottom of our hearts because, in addition to material support, there has been moral support,” says Judy Elia, a young woman from Aleppo.
Since Feb. 6, and continuing in the following days, the Social Communication Delegation of the Salesian Province “Jesus Adolescents” Middle East (MOR) has collected several testimonies from the young survivors welcomed to the “Don Bosco” center in Aleppo. From their words emerge both the fear of the very first moments, but also the solidarity experienced and the sense of relief of being together under the Salesian embrace.
For example, little Micho narrates, “It was a terrible earthquake: we woke up gripped with fear and waited for the tremors to end because the walls were falling. We went down, there was a lot of rain, and we slept outside the house. But now I’m not afraid, because I’m at ‘Don Bosco’ playing with my friends.”
“We were in bed when it happened, and within seconds we were down on the street,” shares young Judy Elia, a dentist. “We didn’t take anything with us. Our only concern was getting away, far from home. We looked for an open place, away from the buildings, in a very difficult situation, because it was also raining (…). And since the day of the earthquake, we’ve been here. The Salesians have opened their doors, we have not lacked anything. They have given us blankets, mattresses, three meals a day… We thank them from the bottom of our hearts because in addition to material support, there has been moral support.”
“What we experienced was too much! We went down the street barefoot, we were running, we were in the rain, we didn’t have adequate clothing… We stayed like that from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. We were so afraid,” Nadia Ebed, a housewife, still recalls with anguish. Relief, however, came from “Don Bosco Aleppo,” where, the woman concludes, “we were welcomed along with a lot of people.”
On the efforts of the Salesians and their collaborators, Stephanie Sultanem, a medical student, these days working at the Salesian oratory, spoke. “After the earthquake, we set up a medicine collection point for the large number of people who are among us. It’s to serve people because so many people have run away from home without being able to get medicine and can no longer return because of the insecurity of the facilities.”
The trials that thousands of people in Syria today are facing are indeed extreme: “I don’t know to what extent people can look to the future with hope, especially after long years of war,” reports Joelle Klzi at the end of her talk.
However, who concludes, “I only know that the Lord has saved us from certain death.”
These and other testimonies are available in the special playlist on “ANSChannel.”