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ED WEST: ONE THIRD OF SYRIAN CHRISTIANS ARE DISPLACED
Monday 7 April 2014 14:09
Photo: Personal archive
Ed West is an author, journalist and blogger, Deputy Editor of the
The Catholic Herald. In June 2013 he began blogging and writing for
The Spectator.
In December 2013, Ed West published an e-book "The Silence of Our
Friends", which focuses on the persecution of Christians and other
minorities in the Middle East.
"The 20th century was a disaster for Christians in the Middle
East. A century ago they comprised 30 % of the region's population,
but starting with 1915 genocide against Armenians, that figure has
declined to a low 5 %. The most optimistic forecasts suggest the
Christian population of 12 million today will fall to 6 million by
mid-century", Ed West wrote in his book.
- Do you keep track of the events in Syria, and in particular the
events taking place in the Armenian-populated town of Kessab? Can
we say it was a clearly worked out plan to attack local Christian
Armenians?
- I dont think it would be wise to talk about the specifics, as in
this war (as in all wars, I suppose) both sides have not told the whole
truth. I think we'll have to wait until it settles down to find out.
- Egypt, Iraq, and now Syria. Considering the goal of Syrian rebels to
assume power in Syria, what future awaits Christians residing in Syria?
- It depends entirely on who wins power. I opposed Western intervention
last year because it seemed like a gamble with other people's lives
to overthrow Assad and hope a democratic or even beningly autocratic
leader takes over.
Iraq was a catastrophe for the Christians there, and there are many
similarities with Syria. If the same vacuum were to arise there it
would be terrible for them.
- How many Christians used to live in Syria before the crisis and
how many were killed or had to leave the country?
- Patriarch Gregory says a third of Christians are displaced, from a
pre-war population of 2.75m. Most would be inside the country but there
are considerable numbers in Lebanon. As far as I know, it is impossible
to talk about exact figures because lots of Christians are sheltering
with other Christians, in Lebanon especially, and not with the UN.
- In your publications, you continuously call on the superpowers
to take practical and sustainable measures to protect Middle East
Christians. Why does the West remain passive and why does it limit
itself to only making statements?
- Ignorance mainly. Lots of people don't even know that there are such
things as Christian Arabs, nor that even a century ago Christians
were something like 30 per cent of the population in the region;
this is strange really when parts of Iraq were heavily Christian by
the 2nd century and England wasnt even converted until the 7th century.
Politicians see little benefit in talking about the issue as
Christianity is unfashionable here, and because of domestic
religious relations they are keen to downplay Islamic violence
(where the opposite has occured, as in Central African Republic, one
left-wing paper lead with the headline 'Christians attack Muslims',
when they would never use the reverse, ever). I also quote the French
philosopher Regis Debray, who said "The victims are "too Christian"
to excite the Left, and "too foreign" to excite the Right". Finally
there is the problem that, once we admit this problem, what can we
do? We're not going to launch a crusade and start WW3 and ultimately
we cant really protect them with military force.
- The presence of Christians in the Middle East has always served a
significant bridge for the dialog between Christianity and Islam. What
will the West lose if the Christian communities in the Middle East
are exterminated?
- The East will lose most; Christians in this part of the world are
mostly market-dominant minorities, and when those groups are forced out
a country inevitably goes backward. Obviously Armenians are aware of
this, as they are a typical market-dominant minority and have suffered
appalling persecution. I've always said that if the West lets in
Christians from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, it would probably benefit them,
but in the longer term it will seriously damage relations between East
and West. Middle Eastern Christians have always been a bridge who have
imparted Western ideas, from the Greek classics which were transcribed
by Syriac speakers into Arabic to the modern UN Declaration of Human
Rights, which was drafted by a Lebanese Christian. If they disappear
it will be a disaster for those left.
http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/9839/
Monday 7 April 2014 14:09
Photo: Personal archive
Ed West is an author, journalist and blogger, Deputy Editor of the
The Catholic Herald. In June 2013 he began blogging and writing for
The Spectator.
In December 2013, Ed West published an e-book "The Silence of Our
Friends", which focuses on the persecution of Christians and other
minorities in the Middle East.
"The 20th century was a disaster for Christians in the Middle
East. A century ago they comprised 30 % of the region's population,
but starting with 1915 genocide against Armenians, that figure has
declined to a low 5 %. The most optimistic forecasts suggest the
Christian population of 12 million today will fall to 6 million by
mid-century", Ed West wrote in his book.
- Do you keep track of the events in Syria, and in particular the
events taking place in the Armenian-populated town of Kessab? Can
we say it was a clearly worked out plan to attack local Christian
Armenians?
- I dont think it would be wise to talk about the specifics, as in
this war (as in all wars, I suppose) both sides have not told the whole
truth. I think we'll have to wait until it settles down to find out.
- Egypt, Iraq, and now Syria. Considering the goal of Syrian rebels to
assume power in Syria, what future awaits Christians residing in Syria?
- It depends entirely on who wins power. I opposed Western intervention
last year because it seemed like a gamble with other people's lives
to overthrow Assad and hope a democratic or even beningly autocratic
leader takes over.
Iraq was a catastrophe for the Christians there, and there are many
similarities with Syria. If the same vacuum were to arise there it
would be terrible for them.
- How many Christians used to live in Syria before the crisis and
how many were killed or had to leave the country?
- Patriarch Gregory says a third of Christians are displaced, from a
pre-war population of 2.75m. Most would be inside the country but there
are considerable numbers in Lebanon. As far as I know, it is impossible
to talk about exact figures because lots of Christians are sheltering
with other Christians, in Lebanon especially, and not with the UN.
- In your publications, you continuously call on the superpowers
to take practical and sustainable measures to protect Middle East
Christians. Why does the West remain passive and why does it limit
itself to only making statements?
- Ignorance mainly. Lots of people don't even know that there are such
things as Christian Arabs, nor that even a century ago Christians
were something like 30 per cent of the population in the region;
this is strange really when parts of Iraq were heavily Christian by
the 2nd century and England wasnt even converted until the 7th century.
Politicians see little benefit in talking about the issue as
Christianity is unfashionable here, and because of domestic
religious relations they are keen to downplay Islamic violence
(where the opposite has occured, as in Central African Republic, one
left-wing paper lead with the headline 'Christians attack Muslims',
when they would never use the reverse, ever). I also quote the French
philosopher Regis Debray, who said "The victims are "too Christian"
to excite the Left, and "too foreign" to excite the Right". Finally
there is the problem that, once we admit this problem, what can we
do? We're not going to launch a crusade and start WW3 and ultimately
we cant really protect them with military force.
- The presence of Christians in the Middle East has always served a
significant bridge for the dialog between Christianity and Islam. What
will the West lose if the Christian communities in the Middle East
are exterminated?
- The East will lose most; Christians in this part of the world are
mostly market-dominant minorities, and when those groups are forced out
a country inevitably goes backward. Obviously Armenians are aware of
this, as they are a typical market-dominant minority and have suffered
appalling persecution. I've always said that if the West lets in
Christians from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, it would probably benefit them,
but in the longer term it will seriously damage relations between East
and West. Middle Eastern Christians have always been a bridge who have
imparted Western ideas, from the Greek classics which were transcribed
by Syriac speakers into Arabic to the modern UN Declaration of Human
Rights, which was drafted by a Lebanese Christian. If they disappear
it will be a disaster for those left.
http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/9839/