Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christians spoke to Kathimerini and say that they are trapped in Syria with no way to defend themselves.
A few days ago, 48-year-old Johnny S., a Greek Orthodox Christian from Syria, found the courage to leave his home in Latakia, where he has been confined since the atrocities began on March 6. Since then, he has only been out to get water and food, and the electricity has been out for about a week.
But on Monday, he had to leave his home for a very important reason: to collect the bodies of his relatives with the help of some friends and bury them.
His 55-year-old cousin, Tony, was leaving with his 20-year-old son, Fadi, from a village outside the city of Latakia when an armed group stopped them and shot at them. Johnny could not go immediately – the risk was too great – but on Monday he and his friends found a closed van and managed to take the bodies of his relatives and transport them to Latakia.
In another village, also near the city, they murdered Johnny’s girlfriend’s brother, who was also Orthodox, he told Kathimerini.
“The situation is tragic, we live in fear, we are in danger and we miss even the simplest things. I am sad, scared, angry,” said Johnny S., who works in the IT sector. His last name is available to Kathimerini, but is not published for security reasons, as Johnny is currently trying to hide his faith.
“They are targeting all minorities,” he said. “We live in fear, we are in danger and we miss even the simplest things.”
26-year-old Eli H. appeals for help from the Greek government.
“I am a proud Greek Orthodox and I will not renounce my identity even if it means death,” Eli H., a 26-year-old engineer who lives in Marmarita, a Christian village in northwestern Syria, told Kathimerini.
He considers Greece his second homeland and is appealing to the Greek government for help—economic, diplomatic, and military.
“All of us here fear that the latest show of violence on the Syrian coast, where so many Alawites and Rum were executed, will spread here, to the provinces of Homs and Hama,” he said, adding that “this is genocide.”
They have no way to defend themselves, he noted.
“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has taken all our weapons,” Elie said. He and Johnny S. told Kathimerini that they want to leave Syria. But there is no safe way out right now.
“Europe is no longer accepting refugees, and it is almost impossible to get a work visa for the United States, Canada or Europe,” Elie says. “It’s like we are prisoners here,” he says, “we exist only to suffer.”
Who committed the massacres in western Syria?
Rafi Issa, president of the Levantine Greek Association, told Kathimerini that his relatives in Syria describe to him situations of chaos in all the villages and cities beyond Damascus, where things are comparatively calm.
He, another Greek Orthodox from Syria, is in Sweden. In his homeland, everyone is trying to protect themselves. In the cities, it is easier to hide their identity, but in the villages, everyone knows who is Orthodox or Catholic Christian, he said.
“They have no way to defend themselves,” Mr. Issa told Kathimerini, “they just lock themselves in their homes and wait.”
“These are jihadists and now they are slaughtering people”
The chaotic situation in the western suburbs of Syria has awakened memories of the nightmare of the Syrian civil war.
Despite the assurances of the transitional president Ahmed Al-Sarra that “the law will take its course in everything” and that the perpetrators of the recent bloodshed will be punished, the images that have been circulated on social media testify to the executions of civilians and the abuse of supporters of the ousted president, Bashar al-Assad.
With the concern widespread among the Christian populations of the region, Kathimerini contacted the bishop of Safita, Mr. Demetrios, as well as the former president of the Greek community in Damascus, Habib Salouma.
“The events of the past few days started because the Alawites wanted to create their own state,” Mr. Salouma explained. “Assad was something of a ‘father’ to them for 54 years.”
Bishop Demetrios, who is just 20 kilometers from the heart of the fighting in Tartus, noted that the former president’s supporters are well-armed and have attacked police stations, killing 80 men, in an attempt to impose their autonomy.
“The fighting was extremely fierce,” assured Mr. Salouma. “The Sunnis killed hundreds of Alawites, 1,200 to 1,500, among them 20-25 Christians.”
Bishop Demetrios, who is in constant communication with the Christians of the western cities, pointed out: “Innocent lives were lost, but we Christians did not have so many victims. Things have calmed down now, but we lived through terrifying moments.”
While residents’ testimonies reveal the scale of the tragedy, new photographic documents arrive in the e-mail, showing burned-down homes and public humiliation. Mr. Salouma confirms that they are constantly receiving similar photos.
“These are jihadists and they are currently slaughtering people. It seems that they got permission, perhaps from the state,” he said.
With fighting raging some 240 kilometres west of Damascus, Christians live in fear of the unknown. “We are not satisfied with the new government, but we are not reacting,” said Mr Salouma. “I, who live in Damascus, have not faced any problems, but no one knows what the future holds.”
He noted that many Alawites fled to their villages near the coast after Assad’s departure, where fighting is now raging. Bishop Demetrios, as a member of the dialogue taking place in Damascus between the new government and religious communities, conveys the reassuring messages he receives from the government.
“We are receiving phone calls to tell people not to be afraid, not to be frightened, that they are here for peace and security to prevail,” Mr Salouma said.
Mr. Salouma explained the months after the regime change: “Under Assad there was more freedom. Nevertheless, in Damascus the situation seems more controlled. The government forces have not bothered the residents.”
“A month ago, the streets were full of soldiers. There are still tanks, but the checks are more discreet, except at night, when they stop you and you may be taken out of the car,” Mr Salouma added.
Despite assurances from Sunni President Al-Sarrah that all religious and ethnic groups will be represented in Syria’s new government, Habib Salouma finds the opposite.
“Those who are on the side of the president are exclusively Sunnis. There is not a single Christian in the government, and even the police and army are staffed only by Sunnis, while in Damascus alone there are about 100,000 Christians,” he said.
Iliana Magra and Athanasios Katsikidis are reporters for Kathimerini.
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