Light a Candle for Peace in Syria
“Perhaps the Lord does not see all this?” (Lamentations 3:36)
As Pope Francis reminds us, in various parts of the world, many people, especially children, feel the daily pangs of hunger. In this context, let us not forget the 85, 000 children of Yemen, under 5 years of age, who died during the past three years-of ongoing conflict and from hunger and malnutrition.
Ali, 16, died in front of her and a doctor who accompanied her. The two women said: “We saw 2 teenagers in the same bed in a basement. They were skeletal. The doctor approached one of them who seemed particularly weak. While she was visiting him, his heart stopped. She tried to revive him. One, two, three times. Then she looked at me and said simply: ‘He’s gone’. She closed his eyes. The other teenager, his companion, murmured desperately: ‘Is he dead? is he dead?’.
Hearing these painful testimonies, and seeing disturbing pictures, some texts from the Book of Lamentations immediately come to mind: “All her people are gtoaning, looking for something to eat” (Lm l:11); “My heart plummets at the destruction of my young people, as the children and babies grow faint in the streets of the city” (Lm 2:11); “As they breathe their last on their mothers’ breasts” (Lm 2:12); “The tongue of the baby at the breast sticks to its palate for thirst; little children ask for bread, no one gives them any” (Lm 4:4).
“After almost 8 years of conflict in Syria, the consequences are indescribable, above all for the little children. Through our campaign we want to raise awareness of the critical conditions into which the country has been plunged and pray for peace and reconciliation.” – Philipp Ozores, the Secretary General of the international Catholic pastoral charity and pontifical foundation ACN International.
“During these years the faces of the Syrian children have cried out for help. By lighting these candles we can give them hope.” – Father Andrzej Halemba, the head ACN’s project section for the Middle East.
LIGHT A CANDLE FOR PEACE IN SYRIA
REFLECT
- How can I give HOPE to the hopeless?
- How can I bring PEACE to those around me?
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