ACN’s head of projects, Regina Lynch, recently returned from a ten-day trip to Lebanon and Syria. ACN has provided over€5 million in aid to both countries in 2021. After returning from the Middle East, Regina gave an interview to give an update on the situation in Lebanon and Syria.

By ACN Staff

The Irish-born head of projects at Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), Regina Lynch, has recently returned from a project trip to Syria and Lebanon. ACN has committed more than €5 million to over 100 projects in Lebanon and Syria for 2021. These projects are wide ranging in their scope from emergency aid to Mass stipends for priests to support of the Church’s pastoral activities. On her return from the Middle East, Regina was interviewed by María Teresa Diestra.

The interview started by discussing the situation in Lebanon. Regina explained that the people there are in great distress. Sadly, it seems that the situation is getting worse and not better. Staff from ACN had visited Lebanon in 2020 to do an assessment of the damaged caused by August 2020 explosion in Beirut’s harbour. The situation has deteriorated over the last year as Lebanon is gripped by an economic crisis.

When asked about the exodus of Christians from Lebanon, Regina said the following:

“It's truly tragic. Many of the Christians we talked to, those whom we know, their relatives, want to leave. For so many, survival is a real uphill struggle with basic needs in short supply. Before the crisis, a teacher could earn between 1,700 and 2,000 dollars a month. Now, with inflation and the devaluation of Lebanese pounds against the dollar, a teacher’s salary is worth 120 to 150 at most.”

The continuing crisis in Syria is deeply impacting the local people, particularly the Christian minority. For example, in Aleppo there were 300,000 Christians before the civil war. Now, there are only 30,000 left in the city.

Regina explained that the Syrian people are weary:

“In Syria you can see that people are tired, very tired, caught up in extremely difficult situations for ten years. Fighting is still going on in the northwest region. Although when we visited Damascus, Homs and Aleppo there was no sense of insecurity, the destruction was terrible. Syrians are wondering how they are going to rebuild, who is going to help them rebuild the country. But before that, there has to be some form of peace.

Various people told us: “During the war at least, they expected it to end at some point, but now, what can they expect?” They are trying to survive on a dollar a day. Unthinkable in a country where before the war, a large part of the population lived quite comfortably.”

Regina described one incident that particularly moved her:

“An associate of one of our project partners showed me pictures on her phone, which she took from her flat. You can see a little girl inside a large rubbish bin, rummaging, passing things to her mother. The nun who was with us told her: “Next time you see this, please go to them and give them money. I will repay you later.” It breaks my heart to see such things.”

ACN is very well aware from our work in various countries that investment in young people is vital to secure the future of at-risk Christian populations. Regina explains what ACN is doing to support young Christians in Syria:

“We must give hope and support. This is why we're going to launch a project for newlywed couples very soon in Syria. Many people don't get married because they can't afford a home to live together. It is a situation that also worries the bishops, since the faithful do not marry because they simply cannot afford it.

We are working on a project in Aleppo, which will consist of giving couples enough money to cover basic needs or pay the rent of a flat for two years.”

ACN is determined to continue providing support to Christians in Syria, Lebanon and throughout the Middle East. Please keep the Christians of the Middle East in your prayers, and if you would like to support the work of ACN, please consider making a donation.