As the new authorities in Syria are consolidating their power since former president Bashar al-Assad has left the country on 8 December 2024, nobody yet knows in what direction the country is heading. What changes do Syrian Christians see? Four Christians, three women and a man, share what they’re experiencing and hope for the future. This article is originally published in www.opendoorsuk.org.
“We don’t feel safe”
“The situation has changed in many aspects for us,” one of the women shares. All four Christians want to stay anonymous. “We don’t walk in the streets when the streets are empty. So we don’t go out very early in the morning or in the evening, because we don’t feel safe. We’re afraid of what may happen. We need to be cautious.” When asked if things happened in the streets to them, they all say nothing has yet.
Schools, shops and banks are open, and life has – in a way – returned to normal. “But we hear of some parents keeping their children at home from school, as they are worried because there is no police in the streets,” says a young woman. According to the four, there were some random robberies in the streets.
Mixed feelings
An important change for the Syrians is that banks are having restrictions in how much cash a person can withdraw. “Everyone has lack of cash,” the woman adds. “Besides that, the government has difficulties with paying the salaries and especially the pensions for the elderly.” But since the takeover of power in Syria, there is no lack of goods in the shops.
For them, as Christians, the situation turned ‘very foggy’, one of them says. “We went through mixed feelings, from ‘Yes, this is an opportunity for the future’ to ‘Oh Lord, where are we going?’ I believe Christians now tend more towards leaving the country than before, but where can we go?”
Until now, what the new authorities are saying is good, according to the four Christians. “But will they do it? When there are incidents now in the country, they always say it isn’t them doing it.”
Fears of civil war
One of the fears many Syrians, including the Christians, have is that the different factions will start fighting each other and see a civil war in the country that was already so badly hit by the war that started in 2011.
Another fear the four Christians express is the lack of good medical care at the moment. “I don’t want to get ill now, with a health system that isn’t working as it was before,” says one of the believers.
There are also positive things to mention in Syria under the new regime. “An example is that I just filled my car with fuel again,” says one of the Christians. “I didn’t need to wait for hours for fuel; it is now available for everyone.” Another positive is that prices of several important products have gone down significantly, as the government dropped the custom fees on those electronic devices.
“My faith is carrying me”
When asked what keeps them going, one of the four just smiles and says: “My faith – without that we wouldn’t be alive anymore. My faith is carrying me through this phase.”
Thinking of a perfect scenario for the future, they say: “Christians will be actively involved in every part of society; they will be involved in writing the new constitution, involved in all levels of the government and in all other high positions in the country.”
The future of the country
Minorities, including the Christians, have been worried about the future of the country since the former president fled the country. After more than 50 years of father Hafez and son Bashar al-Assad rule, no one knew what to expect of the new rulers. Although their talk is moderate and tolerant, time will tell what these words are worth in practice.
A sudden change in power has created a transitional period in Syria, with uncertainty about its long-term implications for Christians. In such a situation, there is potential that people and groups with bad intentions might take advantage of the power vacuum.
There have been some reports of incidents involving Christians in Syria. But not all of them seem directly related to religious persecution but more to broader criminal activity in a law-enforcement vacuum. With some reported incidents, it’s not yet clear exactly what has happened or what the motivation was.
Meetings with church leaders
Since the power takeover, there have been meetings between church leaders and the new authorities in the country. Church leaders expressed their willingness to be involved in building the new Syria. After a big meeting between the new leaders of Syria and leaders of most of the Christian denominations in Damascus two weeks ago, the Christian leaders expressed being ‘cautiously optimistic’.
Besides the traditional churches, Syria also has a church with believers coming from a Muslim background. They are in the current transition period and also under the current government afraid that radical groups might take vantage of the new situation and attack those individuals who left Islam and now follow our Lord Jesus.
courtesy: www.opendoorsuk.org