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Syria has become the land of broken dreams
Thursday, August 20, 2015
What will the Resurrection be like in a country without young people and children?
By Archbishop Samir Nassar
The exodus of youth
This absurd war has torn apart Syria for five
years, forcing so many young Syrians to flee violence, military service, death and chaos ...
With the closure of foreign consulates
and visas denied, these young people spend their fortune and ruin their families to pursue illegal avenues
of emigration—which is very expensive and very dangerous; some drown, others
are assaulted along the way.
Often unwelcome in their new ‘homelands’ and
ignorant of foreign languages, these young Syrian exiles live isolated lives, tortured by suffering and a silent and
bitter hatred. They have lost
everything, and are condemned to forced isolation and perdition.
Back home, their
Church was not able to do enough for them—their country maimed and
unrecognizable through hatred and intolerance.
These Syrian youth—the country’s assets
for the future—were left without hope and now they have turned their back
on their motherland which is in so much
need of them. Their dreams
lay broken in the ruins of their beautiful country.
A one-way trip out—what a terrible waste.
Children who stay behind
The tragedy does not stop with the departure of young people; there are the children
of Syria who have been waiting for peace for five years—and now they are revolting
against a life of misery and abandonment.
Discouraged by the closure of their schools, poverty and the lack of prospects,
they sign up with armed groups and prove to be courageous fighters and
stone-hearted executioners. They have been turned into fighting machines,
trained violence without fear or any particular goals.
Their future and
fate worries the Church and troubles the spirits of her pastors.
These are the tragic consequences of a war that is lasting too long. Instead of
being shielded children from atrocities, these children are immersed in a
total, gratuitous violence .
Destroying childhoods sweeps away innocence away and kills hope. Life’s most
beautiful dream is broken.
How do we restore the pure spirit of these children?
What will the Resurrection be like in a country without young people and
children?
Archbishop Nassar heads the Maronite Archdiocese of Damascus
Syrian Christian girl; ACN photo
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