- Feb 5, 2002
- 166,616
- 56,250
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
AMMAN, Jordan (OSV News) — Catholics warn that Syrians are on the brink of starvation as the United Nations food program cuts off its assistance in the country this month.
“The Syrian people are condemned to die without being able to say a word,” Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs told Vatican Radio. “It is a terrible and unfair decision. For us, it is as if the world were telling the Syrian people, ‘You are condemned to die, without raising your voice, without saying anything.’ And for what? What is the fault of the Syrian people?” he asked.
The U.N. World Food Program, or WFP, said it would end its main assistance program this January across war-torn Syria, where over 12 million people lack regular access to sufficient food. It cited a funding crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and now the conflict in Gaza as reasons for the decision.
In recent years, WFP also scaled down provisions to Syria and neighboring countries, like Jordan, which hosts millions of Syrians fleeing the conflict, which is now in its 13th year. The devastating earthquake that hit northwest Syria, bordering Turkey, in February 2023, also has further exacerbated the food crisis.
“The church, along with nongovernmental organizations, cannot cover all the needs of the Syrian people because their financial capacity is limited,” explained Archbishop Mourad, who was appointed a year ago to head the Archdiocese of Homs, the third largest city in Syria.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
“The Syrian people are condemned to die without being able to say a word,” Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs told Vatican Radio. “It is a terrible and unfair decision. For us, it is as if the world were telling the Syrian people, ‘You are condemned to die, without raising your voice, without saying anything.’ And for what? What is the fault of the Syrian people?” he asked.
The U.N. World Food Program, or WFP, said it would end its main assistance program this January across war-torn Syria, where over 12 million people lack regular access to sufficient food. It cited a funding crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and now the conflict in Gaza as reasons for the decision.
In recent years, WFP also scaled down provisions to Syria and neighboring countries, like Jordan, which hosts millions of Syrians fleeing the conflict, which is now in its 13th year. The devastating earthquake that hit northwest Syria, bordering Turkey, in February 2023, also has further exacerbated the food crisis.
“The church, along with nongovernmental organizations, cannot cover all the needs of the Syrian people because their financial capacity is limited,” explained Archbishop Mourad, who was appointed a year ago to head the Archdiocese of Homs, the third largest city in Syria.
Continued below.
Syrians are on the brink of starvation, Church leader says
The U.N. World Food Program, or WFP, said it would end its main assistance program this January across war-torn Syria, where over 12 million people lack regular access to sufficient food. It cited a funding crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and now the conflict in...
www.oursundayvisitor.com
