Churchgoers reach out to fellow parish under bombardment in Syria

An Irish parish has reached out to help besieged residents in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.

After an opening round of Syria peace talks in Vienna, and ahead of more talks next week in Moscow, parishioners in Ballincollig, Co Cork, are now planning to raise humanitarian aid for a parish in Aleppo whose church was hit by a gas bomb in recent days.

Ballincollig’s parish priest, Fr George O’Mahony, told Mass-goers that people are aware of the plight of refugees in Iraq and Syria but may feel helpless: “Even the very fact of reaching out, of making contact with them, and of finding ways of helping, will let them know that they are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Parishioner Virginia Harrington, who made email and Skype contact with Fr Ibrahim — the Damascus-born parish priest of the Latin parish in Aleppo — said she was moved to act by images and stories of war-torn Iraq and Syria.

“We can’t do anything about what’s happening, but you can always reach out, and let them know we are there — to make that connection, to let them know there is a little town in Ireland aware of their suffering and who want to reach out and help,” she said.

There are now plans to organise church-gate collections, fashion shows, and fundraising Christmas carol concerts in the coming weeks.

Aleppo has been at the centre of a ferocious civil war for more than three years, with UN estimates putting the civilian death toll at almost 220,00 — with almost 30,000 in Aleppo alone. Fr Ibrahim’s parish is in the hands of the Assad regime and is bombarded by rebels from different factions, including the Free Syrian Army, Islamic State and the al-Nusra front — an al Qaeda offshoot.

Despite the danger, Fr Ibrahim has volunteered to stay in the ruined city with his people. In a letter published on the Ballincollig parish website, he describes the appalling suffering and conditions in his parish.

“The bombings are not coming to an end — on the contrary, they are increasing significantly both during the day and at night,” writes Fr Ibrahim. “Life here is absurd and I don’t wonder anymore why people seek to emigrate — why they throw themselves ‘into the sea’ risking all for even life itself.

“Considering the events we see happening, according to human reason, staying here in Aleppo would seem absurd. We friars, however, remain here to help the people.”

Fr Ibrahim thanked the people of Ballincollig for reaching out, and said: “From the ruins and from the catacombs of Aleppo, a prayer always rises from our hearts in our mouths for each one of you.”

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