what is the plight right now for christiansinside syria, given this fighting? the situation of christians is also that ofall people in many parts of syria if we speak about christians in a special way we have about 450,000 who are displaced - inside syria or outside syria more than about 1,000 killed - priests, bishops kidnapped children without schools and many people in very, very bitter poverty are christians specifically being targeted? well...yes, and no. i can say it like that
muslims, our people, our citizens, who are with us for years and years and centuries i don't think they are targeting or doing any harm to us our problem is the people who are not syrian,and the very extremist groups salafists and fundamentalists, and people coming from abroad, and soldiers coming from abroad from europe, from east and west and so on - those are making this trouble, big chaos in all of syria for everyone so that in every place you can't be safe, in every place you are in danger to be killed, tobe kidnapped, and so on so do you have concerns for the christiansin syria if the tide of war turns in favor of some of the people you are talking about?
well, we are in very big danger now. we havethe example of many places where christians were kicked out and displaced - in crac deschevaliers in the north, in aleppo, in homs, in qusayr, in rableh, now in maaloula and soon...daraya, my own country (village), harasta these villages are now empty of christians,displaced inside or outside syria the most vulnerable group and part of the syrian population are the christians they are few, they are without arms, they don't like to be armed so they are also put as an instrument between groups there and there this is the big danger for christians and so any escalation of the situation now is a really the biggestdanger for us in the first place, the christians
for example, exactly today and yesterday andsince [september 5] is a tragedy, a slaughtering kidnapping, killing, blood, monasteries emptying crosses taken away from the domes of the churches in maaloula immediately, i got a telephonecall from there many people are killed blood on the streets, people are hidden inthe old grottoes, where they used to hide again, we have this very dangerous situation
let's get to the current events and the possibility of a us military strike against syria what is your feeling on that? well, i would like now to address in a veryspecial way my dear brothers and sisters christians in the usa in a very special way,and also christians in the whole world if you'd like to preserve a christian presenceas it was from the first beginning for 2,000 years, we are here - if you'd like us to go out, continue and strike if you'd like christians to stay, please make peace - i beg the congress people and the christians in the usa, please - we are your sisters andbrothers, we can keep the real heritage of christianity in the very birthplace
palestine, syria, jordan, lebanon are holy places where christianity was born if you'd like to have more killing and more victims, we are the first to be killed therefore, we are, with all our patriarchs, my brothers, bishops all the bishop conferences in the world - weare against any attack, any new strike from any side especially from the usa againstsyria it can't be limited - excuse me, but it is impossible to have aâ limited strike a strike is aâ strike and you will see in the birthplace, christians leaving the country but where to go? iraq - no place. lebanon - no place. palestine - forbidden...jordan also. where to go? it means the destruction and the end of the christian presence in the middle east
it will be sad to say in history to write that america this country that is working and fighting for liberty as you did in the first history of america, you are now put in the history as those who finished the christian presence in the middle east - we pray that this will not happen those are strong words, but the us says it has to act because of chemical weapons seen as a very dangerous and outlawed weapon the holy father gave the answer: violencecannot still violence, war cannot end war and weapons cannot end weapons - you know,weapons can come from heaven, from every place so it is foolish - excuse me to say - it isbarbarian, now in this century
to think that you can win with war and with weapons everybody has weapons, from all sides you can have weapons therefore i appeal to america, with big love,with big trust - please to not go to france and germany to convince them to be with you, but go all of you - americans and europeans to geneva 2 - you know all of you who arethe bandits, and who is the opposition we have no [problem] about opposition, they are syrians - but the others are not syrians and are not opposition - therefore i ask the usa, please don't strike the holy father said to you, america, and the whole world, and also in russia in st. petersburg, no violence, no war, peace - this is also our appeal fromthis country, from this church here
st. elias, who was really the man of peace, of bringing people together and who was a man of zeal for god and for peace - please be not war makers i hope you will be peacemakers is that a message you would send to basharassad as well? he has in the past been a defender of your people, but he has been accused ofa lot of bloodshed in the past 2 1/2 years against his own people all hands are full of blood everybody is responsible we don't like to put responsibility on one side or the other side - we are all responsible and today is not the time to ask "who is responsible!?" it is time to finish.like solomon said
there is a time for war and a time for peace. it is too late to ask who is responsible america knows very, very well who is responsible and i think she knows better than we know and therefore i ask america to do peace andnot to make war in the evening now, i am going to damascusand i will preside over the prayer in our cathedral there with all bishops and christians, and also muslims, to pray together for peace and for a better future for our young generation they are asking us to prepare for them a better future and to prepare for the christiansa better situation to continue to fulfill their role and salt and light in the world