The Cradle of Christianity

"They cannot celebrate Christmas properly.  It's not safe.  They are in a Christian area, but they don't feel secure to put a tree, even inside their apartment."
Mira - first name only, for security reasons

The Greek Orthodox church of the Entrance of the Theotokos in Hama, Syria

 

This is Syria, with a population of over 22 million, ten percent of whom are Christians.  The Christians are a mixed group, the largest sectarian group of which is the Eastern Orthodox Church of Antioch, an ancient brand of Christianity.  They're followed by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and after them in numbers an Oriental Syriac Orthodox Church. Rounding out the numbers is a minority of Protestants.


The old Christian quarter of Jdeydeh, Aleppo

Some Syrian Christians, concerned with the knowledge that the rebels consider them to be in support of the Alawite regime, feel that if the regime falls their security will evaporate.  Some have already left for Lebanon, but many insist that their place is in Syria, despite worries that if the Sunni majority come to power as it appears they may, their days in Syria will be numbered.

The Monastery of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Aleppo

 

Their concerns have a foundation in experience and in fact.  Right behind the rebels is the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist factions, and the Islamists with connections to al-Qaeda, all three of which groups will be insistent that any new administration in Syria will be required to order Sharia law for the country.  Islamists look dimly on the prospect of sharing the country with Christians, despite their ancient lineage.

And it is undeniably true that the current al-Assad regime has been protective of its minorities.  It has given posts of note in the government to Sunnis as well as Shiites and Syria's Christians have felt comfortable with the current regime, a secular one.  They fear the fall-out on their community once the regime has fallen and the rebels take control.

The rebel leadership, though promising there will be no reprisals against Christians and other minorities have themselves been guilty of human rights abuses little different in type than the regime's atrocities whose scope outdistances that of the rebels.

"Many Christians think that this regime is good for us.  They think that if they keep quiet, Assad will stay, and protect us.  But this is an illusion."  And Aya, a 51-year-old now living in Lebanon, is no longer under any illusions.  Aleppo is where most Christians live in Syria, it represents their ancient home. 

Saint Elias Maronite church in Aleppo

 

When the regime sent its fighter jets over Aleppo to dislodge the rebel fighters who had taken parts of the city, they also made the Christian portion a target.

"We all got hit, but it's too late now for Christians to change their minds about this regime.  I am afraid that now we will pay the price for being silent about this terrible regime all these years.  Most (Christians) want to return (to Syria) but they want to wait until the fighting is over and see who will be ruling Syria after the War" explained Mira.

Schools are closed in Aleppo.  Food is scarce, electricity generation is unreliable.  Most of the city's stores have been boarded up for months.  The streets are unsafe, even though the main Christian districts remain controlled by government forces. And therein lies another threat; rebel leaders warn they will attack the Christian enclave to drive out the regime forces.

 "There was so much shooting, such terrible bombings, and I could not take it  In two weeks I slept for ten hours, I did not eat and I cried all the time, because my city was turning into ruins and I saw it with my own eyes" Aya lamented from Lebanon.