Mideast Catholic Agency Helps Families Hit by Syrian Fighting

August 2, 2012: As heavy fighting continues in Syria's largest city Aleppo, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association is continuing efforts to help struggling families in the embattled country.

The second phase of a major humanitarian effort “is still under execution,” regional director Issam Bishara said in an Aug. 1 update provided to EWTN News by the association, regarding its work with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Melkite Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Their current relief effort began in July 2012 and is “targeting needy displaced families and children,” explained Bishara, who directs the Catholic Near East Welfare Association's work in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon. Fighting between rebels and regime forces “has now reached Christian neighborhoods in Aleppo and Damascus, potentially exacerbating the displacement of families,” the regional director noted.

Some of the displaced have fled to neighboring Lebanon, while others are seeking refuge elsewhere in Syria. The Pontifical Mission office in Beirut is working with its Catholic and Orthodox partners to distribute aid arriving from North America, Europe, and elsewhere. By agreement, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association is “responsible for all fund-raising and collecting donations from international and church donors for the purpose of providing emergency assistance,” Bishara said in the update.

Its partners will deliver the aid among the many families “who have lost their homes and sources of living and revenues” in the conflict between rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The U.N. said on July 29 that around 200,000 people had fled from the two sides' violent confrontation in Aleppo. Its World Food Program is planning emergency shipments to the commercial capital, which is also suffering from shortages of fuel and electricity.

An earlier battle in Damascus, between July 14 and 23, is also said to have displaced approximately 200,000 people, and caused comparable shortages. Recent U.N. estimates place the total death toll of the Syrian conflict around 10,000, though opposition leaders say it is closer to 20,000.

During the first phase of its Syrian relief effort, launched in May 2012, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association assisted nearly 1,000 children displaced from Homs and Al Qusayr to locations elsewhere in Syria as well as Lebanon.

Since the beginning of the second stage, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate has identified more than 1,000 children who fled their homes along with their families. An effort is underway to provide them with sanitation kits as well as food and water.

In Wednesday's announcement, Bishara said a third phase of refugee relief is being prepared, possibly with the help of additional partners including the St. Vincent De Paul Society in Damascus and the Jesuits in Homs.

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association's regional director expects the third phase “will consist of distributing heating fuel and warm clothing for the winter.” There is also a possibility, he said, of helping schools in Homs “to enroll the displaced students and save their academic year.”