Aleppo, Syria, Apr 16, 2019 / 13:58 pm
The number of Christians in Aleppo, Syria, fell dramatically during the civil war, from 180,000 before the war to 32,000 today. Maronite Archbishop Joseph Tobji of Aleppo is the shepherd of a small community of about 400 families. He recently spoke with Aid to the Church in Need.
What is the situation in the city two years after Aleppo was recaptured by government forces?
In terms of safety, the situation has improved, even though bombs continue to fall. Several have been dropped on the fringes of Aleppo over the past few weeks. Therefore, the conflict has not actually ended yet.
However, what is raging now is more a war of economics. At the end of 2016, we thought that everyone would find work again and would be able to participate in rebuilding the city. We were surprised by the impact of the embargo and by the sanctions, which are hitting us even harder now. Every day, we are plagued by power failures [16 hours a day]. The economy is not working and inflation is soaring. In addition, corruption in the country has reached record levels. It is easy to imagine the situation of the inhabitants of Aleppo. Today, the people are demotivated.