When she asked the 4-year-old child how they knew, the child responded by saying "when it's a missile it goes 'sss-boom,' and when it's a canon it immediately goes 'boom.'"
"I was bothered by this. This is the culture of our children," she said, and recalled how in a video sent to her by family in Aleppo, one of her nephews showed her a box of "toys" he had collected, which ended up being different sized shells that had landed on their balcony.
"What do we do for the future to take this violence out of our children?" Tahhan asked, noting that the video from her nephew "hurt me a lot."
However, she cautioned against falling for what she said are false media reports that say that everything is Syria is only destruction.
"It's not true that everything is terrible in Syria, that everything is this civil war," she said, explaining that "there is still solidarity, there is still coexistence between Muslims and Christians."
"We live together, there is co-existence," she said, explaining that there are many Muslim women who participate in the tailoring workshop, and when she needs materials, it is they who go to purchase them.
"Since 2010 to now, more than 500 women have entered our houses, have gone to sewing classes, and the majority are Muslims," she said, explaining that if she were to accept only Christians, "then I also become like them, I become a fanatic."
Many times when bombs go off near the convent, shortly after there will be a knock on their door from Muslim men who come to check on them, saying "Sisters, do you need something? Are you okay?"
Even in the school children don't distinguish between Christians and Muslims, she said, noting that they are damaged above all by war, rather than religious differences. "I'm not saying there's not fanaticism," she added, but stressed that there is still coexistence between them.
Going against a growing distaste for President Assad in the global public eye, Tahhan voiced her support for Assad, saying "I like our president." She said that he and his wife are "very close to us" and have protected and offered material and financial support to the Christians in Syria, including for the school her order runs. She added that Assad's wife called and asked for her personally and met with her and several other sisters to ask if anything was preventing them from carrying out their work and to ask what support they needed.
The international community, however, is beginning to unite in opposition against Assad. On Tuesday G7 leaders – which include the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan and Canada – met with allies in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to discuss the possible need for new leadership in Syria and to agree on sanctions for his biggest ally, Russia.
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Referring to Trump's decision to bomb Syria's Shayrat Air Base after the sarin gas attack, Tahhan said the move was "a step back from peace."
When it comes to the peace process in Syria, the nun said that while there is always hope for the future, it frequently happens that whenever a step forward is taken, "then something happens and we go backward."
She recalled receiving the news after walking out of a reception for the award winners in Washington, saying that when she heard about the bombing, "I was very hurt," and that in her opinion, "right now, for me, we are going backward."
The war, in her opinion, erupted not because Assad was causing problems, but because "there are different interests" involved, including the country's natural resources.
Pope Francis "is doing a lot" with all the appeals he is making, particularly to the international community, she said, calling him "a true prophet."
His words "awaken the conscience…he doesn't stay quiet. He is awakening, his voice is strong. He is also entering into the conscience of everyone."