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.”