【慈幼通訊社
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2016 年
11月
18
日敘利亞阿勒頗訊】
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世界各地很多報章的頭條，都報導了敘利亞人民的困境。「無人會為敘利亞而哭泣。」「比盧旺達更大的人道災難，也不能令世界有所反應。」「即使炸彈摧毀我們的房屋，子女面臨死亡，也無人關心發生在敘利亞人身上的事。」一位來到土耳其的老婦，說出了這些沮喪的話。敘利亞的戰事在過去數月再度爆發，到如此激烈的程度，以致慈幼會士現在都提及這場「極度的不人道的事件」。
逾五十萬人死於戰火之下，傷者逾一百六十萬，超過一千一百萬人流離失所。在這境況之下，慈幼會士繼續在戰爭暴力、無水無電、糧食匱乏的環境下，盡一切可行辦法服務人民。
2011年3月，敘利亞爆發武裝衝突。在敘利亞的慈幼會傳教士Alejandro León神父說：「這並非一場內戰，卻是兩派的武裝衝突。一派為敘利亞人，另一派包括多個國籍，逾八十個之多，擁有大量武器及顧及很多的利益。」
敘利亞三所會院（阿勒頗、大馬士革及卡符隆）的慈幼會士，正處於艱苦的境況中。León神父舉例說：「有一位正等候巴士，前來我們會院的孩子，被導彈炸死。我們有兩名青年領袖，與母親在家中同遭炸死。」
他說：「在敘利亞，每個人都為一些喪亡親友哀悼痛哭，這實在是傷痛的事，並會激起報復心。」
他繼續說：「然而，我們也看到很多祝福和奇蹟：戰事帶來了傳教士前所未能做到的事 ─ 永不動搖的信仰植根於青年中。戰爭摧毀了很多人的心靈及人性，然而也有很多人卻找到真正的信仰，在這件事前，我們唯有對天主深表敬意。」
有人會真的關心這些統計數字嗎？「有逾兩百萬難民得不到任何人道援助，四百五十萬人流離失所，並有四百萬名兒童處於危急狀況中。」
The war has destroyed hearts, but among the young people there is an unshakable faith
(ANS - Syria –Aleppo, 18 November 2016) – The headlines of many newspapers around the world report the plight of the Syrian people. "No one cries for Syria", "The world does not react to a human disaster greater than that of Rwanda". "Nobody cares what happens to us Syrians, even when bombs devastate our homes and our children are dying. No one does anything to prevent the massacres or to help those who have lost everything." This was the despairing comment of an old woman as she reached Turkey. The war in Syria has seen a resurgence in the past few months, so much so that the Salesians now speak of "very high levels of inhumanity".
Over half a million have died, there are more than 1.6 million injured and more than 11 million displaced persons. In this context, the Salesians continue to serve the population in the most normal way possible, in a setting surrounded by violence, where there is no water, no light and a shortage of food.
The violence in Syria began in March 2011. Fr Alejandro León, Salesian missionary in Syria, says: "It is not a civil war. It is a war between two armies, one Syrian and one made up of many nationalities, more than 80 of them, with many forces and with many interests."
The Salesians in their three houses in Syria (Aleppo, Damascus and Kafroun) have had to live in difficult situations. "For example, a child waiting for a bus to come to our house was killed when a missile exploded. Two of our youth leaders died in their home with their mother during a bombing," says Fr Leon.
In Syria, he says, "every single person has a few dead people to mourn, and the problem is the pain which can lead to revenge."
Yet, he continues, "we have seen many blessings and many miracles: the war has brought about what the missionaries were unable to achieve previously - an unshakable faith among the young. The war has destroyed the heart and humanity of many, but many others have found a true faith, before which we can only bow down."
Is there anyone who really cares about the statistics? "There are more than two million refugees who do not receive humanitarian aid. There are four and a half million displaced persons and four million children are in grave danger."