"Syria is a disaster", Ares exclaims when I ask him how COVID-19 has affected Syria. "...and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the disaster in the country". So says Ares, as we call him for security reasons. He leads the local project managers in Syria who, with the support of the Danish European Mission's donors, provide emergency aid to the most vulnerable. I talk to him via WhatsApp on a reasonable connection.
He says: "Even without COVID-19, Syria was in crisis. The country does not have sufficient infrastructure to detect infection, many doctors have fled, and there is a lack of medicine. The clinics that are functioning are full and there are long queues outside. Almost the only thing you can do is isolate yourself to avoid infection.
The media is censored, so many live in ignorance of what COVID-19 really is. Our hygiene kits are COVID-19-focused with masks and disinfection, as well as vitamins to boost recipients' immune systems.
How do Syrians survive?
Some survive and some do not. Many men have fled Syria, just as many men have died in the war. Men are needed to support families and a whole generation of women cannot get married and have children. In Islam it is haram (shameful, ed.).
People rely heavily on our emergency aid packages with food and hygiene items. If we can't provide them, people have to eat less.
The Syrian lira is in free fall. We used to give food vouchers to those in need so they could buy rice and beans at the market, but we had to stop when the value of the vouchers dropped from morning to night. There have been more deaths from hunger and disease than ever before. However, we lack statistics on whether the cause of death is COVID-19 or other diseases.
In Syria, people have traditionally not saved for their retirement, but relied on their children to try. In this way, many older people are challenged as many young people have left the country. People don't survive, they wait to die.
What challenges does the church face?
There are many. From a humanitarian perspective, the church has become dependent on our emergency food parcels, which they also use to reach out to Muslims in need. This work continues because we are there and we serve people in need. Christians will be sad if outside aid decreases and they have to help fewer people.
The need is so great. There is so much suffering. We work with a pastor in Aleppo who, over the years, has trained many church members, given himself to them - but they have left. There is a lack of people in churches who are leaders and can be trusted with responsibility. The pastor is now very much on his own. He starts Bible study groups, but people keep leaving the country. This means that those who remain can burn out. Paul trained Timothy, and where would the Christian church be without believers who have been trained by others? However, we understand why people leave, as they want their children to go to school and have food.
So what does the church do when more Muslims become Christians?
Yes, it's a challenge, as the same pastor baptized around 40 Muslims last year. One reason Muslims convert to the Christian faith is that many are tired of Islam. They are tired of the strife between Shia and Sunni Islam. In addition, they see Christians helping those in need and that makes a positive impression.
But are these conversions long-lasting if they are simply motivated by frustration with Islam or admiration for the charitable work of Christians? Is there not a need for training so that the new Christians become rooted in the faith?
Yes, there is a need for leaders who can teach, as the Word of God has not yet taken deep root in some of the new believers - as was the case for some in Jesus' parable of the sower. It is not enough to sow the Word - it must also take root. I mentioned that about 40 were baptized, but we don't know if they all persevere in faith and share it with others.
How many Christians are there with a Muslim background?
I don't know, there is a lot of turnover. I could ask a priest, but the number could change in a short time. And who is temporary and who is real in reverse? I don't want to give a number because we get stories that can be exaggerated, like someone was healed and came to faith, but if we listen critically, were they really healed and came to faith? There are also stories where people really were healed and came to faith. But it's difficult to quantify and we don't know people's hearts. But I can say that there are many Muslims coming to faith in Jesus, more than ever before in the modern church history of Syria, since the 1950s.
We are heading towards a future where the majority of Christians in Syria will be Muslim and not traditional ethnic Christians - Ares
The future church in Syria is made up of Christians with Muslim backgrounds
We are heading towards a future where the majority of Christians will be Christians from Muslim backgrounds and not traditional ethnic Christians, such as Armenians and Assyrians, who will become a minority in the church. The first Christians to leave were wealthy Christians who had the resources to travel. In Syria, Christians have typically belonged to the middle class, upper middle class or upper class. The Muslims who are now becoming Christians are the poor, who are more likely to stay in Syria," says Ares.
At the end of the conversation, the connection is lost, but Ares sends an audio message: Thank you so much for your support, we really need it.
