Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 9, 2020 / 11:30 am
Do not forget the suffering Christians in Syria, a member of a pontifical aid foundation implored officials from the U.S., Hungary, and Poland on Wednesday.
"What seems to be the greatest drama facing Syrians today is that the world is forgetting them," said Father Waldemar Cislo, director of the Polish section of Aid to the Church in Need of Syrian Christians, at an online event about the international prosecution of acts of genocide.
Syrian Christians endured genocide for years at the hands of ISIS and have also suffered through the collateral damage of a nearly-decade-long civil war, Fr. Cislo said, yet the world does not recognize the dire nature of their situation. Unemployment is high and many families are in need of basic assistance such as heating oil.
The "long-lasting war leads to many getting bored," he said of global concern. "Today nobody's impressed with the news that 10, 50, or 100 people died in Damascus," he said, noting that last year, children were freezing in the winter because their families did not have enough money for oil heating.