{"id":103764,"date":"2017-11-14T12:32:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T10:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.proterrasancta.org\/?post_type=en-post&#038;p=103764"},"modified":"2022-01-25T16:41:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T15:41:50","slug":"oasis-of-charity-in-damascus-first-stop-of-our-trip-to-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preprod.proterrasancta.org\/en\/oasis-of-charity-in-damascus-first-stop-of-our-trip-to-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Oasis of charity in Damascus. First stop of our trip to Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We arrive in <strong>Damascus<\/strong> after sunset and the show is amazing: that of an illuminated city. Only six months ago it seemed impossible, but electricity does not seem to be a big problem anymore. As we approach the <strong>Franciscan Monastery<\/strong>, the impression we had at the beginning is confirmed: the city has finally returned to life and there is a concrete hope that <strong>war<\/strong> is almost at its end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the market in front of the big mosque, it&#8217;s hard to walk: tourists are not there, but traders are busy listening to those who have finally got some money to buy a scarf, some spices, or just a piece of soap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAfter the liberation of <strong>Aleppo<\/strong>, we started hoping\u201d says <strong>Father Bahjat, <\/strong>guardian of the Franciscan monastery of <strong>Bab Touma<\/strong> in Damascus. It is not naive optimism. <strong>Sister Yola<\/strong> confirms it too us as she takes us to see the kindergarten, that is next to&nbsp;the <strong>memorial of Saint Pau<\/strong>l (where, according to the tradition, Saul of Tarso met Jesus). The place has has never stopped welcoming children during these years of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the nursery, completely renovated rooms welcome <strong>140 children<\/strong> from <strong>3 to 5 years old<\/strong>. But only a year ago it was a dilapidated building. \u201cThanks to the funds that the <strong>Association pro Terra Sancta<\/strong> sent to us, we did a wonderful job. And we can welcome anyone, even those who do not have the money to pay the fee\u201d. This <strong>miracle of charity<\/strong> has been made possible thanks to the many supporters who in recent years have not abandoned the <strong>Syrian people<\/strong>. The gratitude of Sr. Yola and the teachers is for them, \u201cfor those who have not left us alone during these years\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the classes, however, there is a grievous humanity. Like <strong>Maryam<\/strong> who is only five years old and has lost her mother a few months ago. She is shy, she just answers. She looks at us with those little blue eyes but never gets close to us, even though Sister Yola continues to call her. \u201cTaali, taal!\u201d Which means \u201cCome, come!\u201d. No way. Maryam keeps on hiding among her classmates. \u201cShe lost her mother on March 26th\u201d, the sister tells us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For her and her sister it was a terrible blow. \u201cSince then, she only says a few words\u201d. Every now and then, her hands tremble, and her gaze is lost in the void. \u201cA few days after that tragedy, on <strong>Easter Sunday<\/strong>, her father committed <strong>suicide<\/strong>. Before he died he called all his children and told Stephen, his older son: \u2018Daddy will be away for a while. I recommend: take care of your sisters\u2019. That was the last time they saw him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen, when he realized that his father would not return, did not want to see his sisters anymore for revenge towards his father. He did not want to obey his dad, who had betrayed him. \u201cAt night, we hear him weep and scream\u201d his uncles tells us, \u201che accuses his father of being a liar, to have disappointed him. Sometimes, he also threatens to commit suicide\u201d. The <strong>scars that the war has left<\/strong> and still leaves, will last for many years. \u201cThe only hope is that they can really feel <strong>loved<\/strong> after being abandoned by everyone\u201d, says sister Yola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is true for Stephen, for Maryam, but also for all the other <strong>little ones<\/strong> who enter these classroms in the morning,ordered in a line. The war could not destroy this beauty. Sister Yola wishes that this <strong>beauty<\/strong> will keep on growing in her great family. And <strong>hope<\/strong> as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is this hope that we want to support with your help. Because, as it was for Saint Paul, so many <strong>hearts<\/strong> can still be <strong>converted<\/strong> in <strong>Syria<\/strong> although the Country has been <strong>torn apart<\/strong> by the conflict. &nbsp;Today this hope is coming back to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-support-these-little-miracles-of-charity-in-syria\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proterrasancta.org\/en\/project\/syria-damascus-the-emergency-centre\/\">Support these little miracles of charity in Syria!<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We arrive in Damascus after sunset and the show is amazing: that of an illuminated city. Only six months ago it seemed impossible, but electricity does not seem to be a big problem anymore. As we approach the Franciscan Monastery, the impression we had at the beginning is confirmed: the city has finally returned to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":103639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9723],"tags":[],"campaign_code":[],"class_list":["post-103764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.7 (Yoast SEO v19.14) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Oasis of charity in Damascus | Pro Terra Sancta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We arrive in Damascus after sunset and the show is amazing: that of an illuminated city. 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