In churches across Aleppo – and across the Middle East – Christians are still working hard to prepare for Christmas, writes Bishop Antoine Audo. I will do my best to spread hope in Aleppo this Christmas, but it is hard to celebrate when your city is in ruins. Four years ago, Aleppo was a thriving, cosmopolitan place, but everybody has suffered in Syria’s terrible war. The rich have left, the middle classes have become poor, and the poor have become miserable. Four out of five people here don’t have a job. When I walk the streets, I feel attacked by the poverty – by the sight of sick, tired, desperate people with no hope for the future. At the moment, the city of Aleppo is split in two. In a few areas, you can sometimes convince yourself that life goes on as normal – people go to churches and mosques, children attend school, students go to university – but you never know where the next rocket will fall. Other areas – like the old City and the souks – have been devastated by the fighting. The beautiful Umayyad mosque has been destroyed by shelling. A city that used to be happy and prosperous is now divided against itself.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 06:48:15 +0000
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