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REP. SCHIFF: THE PLIGHT OF SYRIA'S CHRISTIANS
http://asbarez.com/117001/rep-schiff-the-plight-of-syria%E2%80%99s-christians/
Wednesday, December 4th, 2013
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff
BY REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF
As winter descends upon the Middle East, the plight of Syria's people,
who have endured nearly three years of savage civil war, grows more
desperate with each passing day.
Fighting rages on throughout much of the country and, with government
forces making headway in recent months, many of the rebel groups have
splintered, turning on each other. As in wars throughout history,
it is civilians - especially children - who have borne much of the
suffering. More than nine million Syrians are in need of humanitarian
assistance and a quarter of these, two point two million, have fled
the country, mostly to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Half
of those refugees - more than one million people - are children.
Another six point five million Syrians are internally displaced,
having fled their homes but remaining inside the country, often in
parts of Syria that have changed hands on multiple occasions and with
attendant civilian suffering.
While all of Syria's people have been affected by the fighting,
it is Christians, who make up about ten percent of the country's
population, who are at greatest risk, given their small numbers and
the increasingly religious nature of a war that started out as a
broad-based secular movement that sought to change the character of
the Syrian regime - but not the regime itself.
For two millennia, Syria has been home to one of the oldest
Christian communities in the world, a population dominated by the
Eastern churches, but also including smaller numbers of Catholics
and Protestants. Syria's Christians have been comfortably and fully
integrated into the economic, political and cultural life of modern
Syria and, despite their small numbers, are well-represented among the
country's elite. Tragically, this long, peaceful coexistence has been
shattered and half a million Syrian Christians - nearly one in four -
have fled the country since the fighting began.
Like minorities the world over, Syria's Christians have tried to avoid
getting dragged into the fighting that has gripped their homeland. But
with their top two population centers, Aleppo and Homs, having seen
some of the most savage fighting of the war, Christians have been
unable to avoid being drawn into the conflict.
While the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad did not
start out as a sectarian conflict, it has increasingly taken on a
religious tone as many of the rebels have wrapped themselves in the
mantle of fundamentalist Islam.
Initially, the Free Syrian Army and other larger rebel groupings,
distanced themselves from the more religious rebels factions, some of
whom are linked to al Qaeda, but even they have adopted an increasingly
Islamist tone in recent months. This has exacerbated the plight of
the Christians, who are increasingly targeted simply because they
are Christian and because they are seen by many Muslims as backing
the government.
The truth is that Syrian Christians, many of whom have family members
among my Armenian-American constituents, did not rally to the regime.
Syrian Christians, like most other Syrians, simply wanted a freer and
more open society and a greater voice in their own government. It is
a testament to the depth of Christian desperation that atrocities
perpetrated by radical Islamists have done more to test Christian
neutrality than the use of chemical weapons and war crimes by Assad's
forces.
Ending the civil war through a negotiated solution represents the best
outcome for the Christian community, and the international community
must insist that any agreement reached at the upcoming peace talks
in Geneva or thereafter will guarantee the safety of Syria's minority
populations.
In the meantime, America can do more to help those seeking refuge.
That is why I have been working for much of the past year to convince
the Administration to allow humanitarian parole for the nearly six
thousand Syrians with approved immigrant petitions to the United
States.
As hundreds of millions around the world prepare to celebrate the most
joyful day of the Christian calendar, the international community must
intensify its efforts to end this terrible war, to protect Syria's
Christians and to insure the continued vitality of this two thousand
year old community.
Representative Adam Schiff represents California's 28th District in
the U.S. House of Representatives, and serves on the House Intelligence
Committee and Appropriations Committees.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://asbarez.com/117001/rep-schiff-the-plight-of-syria%E2%80%99s-christians/
Wednesday, December 4th, 2013
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff
BY REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF
As winter descends upon the Middle East, the plight of Syria's people,
who have endured nearly three years of savage civil war, grows more
desperate with each passing day.
Fighting rages on throughout much of the country and, with government
forces making headway in recent months, many of the rebel groups have
splintered, turning on each other. As in wars throughout history,
it is civilians - especially children - who have borne much of the
suffering. More than nine million Syrians are in need of humanitarian
assistance and a quarter of these, two point two million, have fled
the country, mostly to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Half
of those refugees - more than one million people - are children.
Another six point five million Syrians are internally displaced,
having fled their homes but remaining inside the country, often in
parts of Syria that have changed hands on multiple occasions and with
attendant civilian suffering.
While all of Syria's people have been affected by the fighting,
it is Christians, who make up about ten percent of the country's
population, who are at greatest risk, given their small numbers and
the increasingly religious nature of a war that started out as a
broad-based secular movement that sought to change the character of
the Syrian regime - but not the regime itself.
For two millennia, Syria has been home to one of the oldest
Christian communities in the world, a population dominated by the
Eastern churches, but also including smaller numbers of Catholics
and Protestants. Syria's Christians have been comfortably and fully
integrated into the economic, political and cultural life of modern
Syria and, despite their small numbers, are well-represented among the
country's elite. Tragically, this long, peaceful coexistence has been
shattered and half a million Syrian Christians - nearly one in four -
have fled the country since the fighting began.
Like minorities the world over, Syria's Christians have tried to avoid
getting dragged into the fighting that has gripped their homeland. But
with their top two population centers, Aleppo and Homs, having seen
some of the most savage fighting of the war, Christians have been
unable to avoid being drawn into the conflict.
While the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad did not
start out as a sectarian conflict, it has increasingly taken on a
religious tone as many of the rebels have wrapped themselves in the
mantle of fundamentalist Islam.
Initially, the Free Syrian Army and other larger rebel groupings,
distanced themselves from the more religious rebels factions, some of
whom are linked to al Qaeda, but even they have adopted an increasingly
Islamist tone in recent months. This has exacerbated the plight of
the Christians, who are increasingly targeted simply because they
are Christian and because they are seen by many Muslims as backing
the government.
The truth is that Syrian Christians, many of whom have family members
among my Armenian-American constituents, did not rally to the regime.
Syrian Christians, like most other Syrians, simply wanted a freer and
more open society and a greater voice in their own government. It is
a testament to the depth of Christian desperation that atrocities
perpetrated by radical Islamists have done more to test Christian
neutrality than the use of chemical weapons and war crimes by Assad's
forces.
Ending the civil war through a negotiated solution represents the best
outcome for the Christian community, and the international community
must insist that any agreement reached at the upcoming peace talks
in Geneva or thereafter will guarantee the safety of Syria's minority
populations.
In the meantime, America can do more to help those seeking refuge.
That is why I have been working for much of the past year to convince
the Administration to allow humanitarian parole for the nearly six
thousand Syrians with approved immigrant petitions to the United
States.
As hundreds of millions around the world prepare to celebrate the most
joyful day of the Christian calendar, the international community must
intensify its efforts to end this terrible war, to protect Syria's
Christians and to insure the continued vitality of this two thousand
year old community.
Representative Adam Schiff represents California's 28th District in
the U.S. House of Representatives, and serves on the House Intelligence
Committee and Appropriations Committees.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress