ACN Lenten Campaign: Middle East

Candlelight vigil around the cross in Baghdad.

Aid to the Church in Need’s Lenten Campaign continues, this time with a focus on the suffering Christians in the Middle East.

Here, Christians in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Lebanon speak movingly about the fear that pervades their lives on a daily basis, a fear that emboldens their love of Christ and the Church.

The persecution and suffering of the Christians in the Middle East has a long and painful history and the 21st century has seen the situation deteriorate further.

A Christian in Syria: “As a Christian, I am considered an enemy. For this reason, a lot of Christians in Al Raqqah were slaughtered. You either convert to Islam or you get slaughtered”.

A Christian in Iraq: “Many were killed just because we have our religion written in our IDs. Masihi, means a Christian. Father Ragheed and three deacons were murdered. On the wall of the church, they wrote: ‘There will be no Christianity in Iraq anymore’. They were trying to force us to deny our faith”.

A Christian in Egypt: “We walk the streets and hear them saying, ‘we'll teach you manners. We will bring you up, you will stay at home. You will wear the hijab’. My kidnapped daughter’s name is Nadia. She was 14 years old. She went out to go to church. She was kidnapped on her way back home. I want people to understand that I have lost my daughter. Me and many other people. We don't know where they are”.

A Christian in Lebanon: “My generation suffered a lot. We lived a childhood in which there was fear, terror, and the absence of freedom. And today we are living the same scenario. The Christian situation in Lebanon is unstable but Jesus is with us”.

Christians are being persecuted today in the Middle East, please help them survive.