Peace is possible says Syrian bishop at UN

Syrian refugee Reem, 30, and her daughter Ibtisan, 3, photographed at their home in Zarqa, Jordan. She has three children. Two of them attend public school and Caritas remedial classes. Previously they attended Caritas catch up classes after having missed one year of school. Photo by Oscar Durand/CRS

(photo) Reem, 30 ans, réfugiée syrienne, et sa fille Ibtisan, 3 ans, dans leur maison à Zarqa, en Jordanie. Elle a trois enfants. Deux d’entre eux fréquentent l’école publique et des cours de soutien de Caritas. Auparavant ils ont suivi dess cours de rattrapage de Caritas, après avoir perdu une année entière de scolarité. Photo: Oscar Durand/CRS

“People think it’s naive to talk of an end to the war in the face of such destruction,” said Bishop Antoine Audo, the Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo. “But peace is possible in Syria today.”

The president of Caritas Syria was addressing a side event on the crisis in Syria on the 16 February at the United Nations in Geneva. He spoke alongside Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Michel Roy, Caritas Beligium’s Sebastien Dechamps and Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria to the Human Rights Council.

“Syrians have a history of tolerance and peaceful coexistence among different religions. We refuse to be part of the persecution of other Syrians. We love our country like we love our family, trying to divide us will not work” he said. “We are the victims of a regional conflict that has manipulated extremism within a fragile society.”

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The bishop spoke about daily life in Aleppo following a harsh winter without electricity, heating, running water, limited food and under bombardment. “The partial ceasefire has given us some hope,” said Bishop Audo. “People have begun to breathe again, to walk in the park and to live again.”

A ceasefire came into effect on 27 February after talks which included major regional actors, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, as well as regional bodies, such as the Arab League and the European Union.

“We’re all hoping that the process of dialogue is a success,” said the bishop. “However, the solution has to come from within Syria and not be imposed from outside.

“As ordinary Syrians we have a role to play. We have to come together as real citizens and not one group fight another for domination.”

Caritas Internationalis is running a Syria: Peace is possible campaign as part of efforts to end the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

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Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Michel Roy called on the international community and the countries directly involved in the conflict to support the ceasefire and inclusive negotiations underway towards a total cessation of hostilities and a pluralistic society.

“The Syria of tomorrow, like the Syria of yesterday, must be a melting-pot united in diversity with a secular base guaranteed by law” he said.

Michel Roy called on governments to stop selling arms into Syria, cut off financial means for the warring parties to buy arms and withdraw from any trade that could finance the war.

Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said after 5 years of war, there were signs of hope. “The level of violence has reduced substantially in areas under the ceasefire,” he said. “We now need more confidence building measures such as the release of prisoners.”

He addressed the treatment of refugees from Syria coming to Europe: “You cannot preach human rights to your nationals, and treat Syrian refugees like numbers. You cannot be a democracy and treat people in this way. That is why the Caritas campaign is so important: to remind people of their responsibilities.”

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