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Life in Syria for Christians: teaching tolerance and harmony among the faithful
It was a chilly afternoon in January at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. In a makeshift city, thousands of Syrian families had reluctantly made their homes in tents and caravans, fleeing their country for safety. Under a cloudy and dark blue sky, I stood in front of a group of 50 kids who had gathered between several tents to attend an art and conflict-resolution workshop.
As the founder and director of Project Amal ou Salam, a project that aims to empower the future of Syria, I had run similar workshops all over Turkey and Lebanon. Now, here I was standing in front of kids who were dressed in worn-out clothes. Some wore shoes that didn’t match.
I introduced an activity I call “Rebuilding your town,” which helps kids envision a future free from conflict. I asked where they would go when the conflict is over.
“To Syria!” they called out together.
“What will we need in our new Syria?” I asked. They began to shout their answers with enthusiasm.
“Schools and houses!” said a girl cradling her younger sister in her lap, both wearing muddy pink dresses.
“Parks!” And then, “Hospitals!”
I wanted the kids to understand that they were the most important players in a peaceful and prosperous Syria.
I then asked if there were room for Christians in this rebuilt Syria.
The answer was swift and unequivocal.
No, there was no room in the Syria of their dreams for Christians.
I felt crushed. I am a Christian. The idea that children, who didn’t even understand my faith, felt this way at such a young age made me not only sad, but a little bit scared.
At first, I hesitated revealing to the group that I in fact was a Christian. And then I said it. “You know, I am a Christian.” The room went silent.
Since 2013, I had traveled to Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan as part of my Project Amal ou Salam, which translates from Arabic to mean Project Hope and Peace. I had led workshops like this one to over 5,000 kids, teaching them about diversity, tolerance and nonviolence. Having grown up in Syria, leaving at the age of 17 to attend university in Canada, this was my way of giving back to the future of my country.
But I have also learned as well. The more Syrian children I work with, the more I understand the dynamics of Syrian society that I hadn’t noticed before. I saw in a new light that growing up in Damascus, in our tight-knit society, religion was never an issue. As a child, I was able to be best friends with both Muslims and Christians. My friends and I were taught that Syria was known to be a hub for all three major world monotheistic religions. The harmony that existed in Syria between the different religions, we understood, should be an example to communities worldwide.
When the Syrian revolution began in March 2011, dreams of a free and democratic country took over the hearts of many Syrians. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare of destruction and unimaginable violence. The country quickly began to divide itself between pro- and anti-Assad regime factions, the dictatorial family that had run the country for over 40 years.
Source: newsok.com