Aleppo’s Christian community is in a last-ditch effort to survive. There are only two ways to exist for those people. Either stay in their homes or flee. The result of both is likely to be the same – death! In the meantime, they fear what will happen to their future if the Jihadi forces take control of the country. If that happens, the Christians in Syria will probably be wiped out forever.
Syrian History is Steeped in Christian Tradition
After the Romans captured the city of Antioch in 64 BC, it became a Roman province. The community in Syria is one of the oldest Christian communities on earth, dating back to the first century AD. As a result of the evangelistic activities of St. Paul and Peter, Syria became an important centre of early Christianity and emerged as a holy place that provided many prominent theologians and church leaders.
But later things did not go well for the Christians. The wars, civil strife and attacks that followed the Islamic invasion and persecution of Christians led to the suppression of the presence of Christians in the region. However, this Christian community tried as much as possible to hold on to these persecutions. But things were not easy for them. Many were therefore forced to flee Christian cities for the sake of their lives.
Concerns are now being raised about the Christian minority, which has been steadily shrinking since the start of the war. “In 2011, there were about 150,000 Christians in Aleppo. Today, only 20,000 to 25,000 remain,” reveals Vincent Gelot, the project manager to Lebanon and Syria for the Louvre d’Orient, a Catholic aid organization that helps Eastern Christians. Reports in 2023 also reveal that in Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, the proportion of Christians has fallen from 12% before the war to 1.4%. The Christian population of the predominantly Christian city of Idlib was almost completely wiped out under Islamic rule.
Many people are also thinking that this happened a long time ago. But now the escalating conflicts and insurgent incursions are bringing Aleppo to a situation where the remaining Christians will be wiped out, or forced to flee, turning it into a city with no Christian presence left.
“Christians, like the rest of the people of Syria, have suffered from bombings, famines, sieges and the earthquake of 2023. Many families have fled to escape poverty. As for those who remain, we fear that the capture of the city by the rebels and jihadists will be the ‘last blow’. The very existence of the Christian minority is at risk”- “, Gelot reveals.
People who are Denied even Basic Facilities and cannot even Escape
Aleppo’s Christian community is in a last-ditch effort to survive. Only two ways exist for those people. Either stay in their homes or evacuate via a potentially dangerous alternative route. But the result of both is likely to be the same – death! A prominent local doctor, Dr. Arvant Arslanian was shot and killed when he tried to leave Aleppo states The Armenians of Syria’s Facebook page. This emphasizes giving a glimpse into a community trapped with no way out.
There are people with no basic facilities, a lack of food and water, a curfew, long queues for the available food, eyes scared of death, those who can’t even sleep, gunshots ringing everywhere… how the terrible conditions of the people of Syria are going on. Meanwhile, Christians are terrified of what will happen to their future if jihadist rebel forces take control tomorrow. Their eyes are looking at imminent death. The Christians in Syria rain with the fire of war. If this continues, Syria will become a non-Christian land which will be marked in the world map shortly.