ONE CAN STILL HEAR SHOOTINGS AND EXPLOSIONS
Fr. Marek Łuczak talks with Fr. Mariusz Boguszewski being in Aleppo in Syria, who works in the organization Help to Church in Need
FR. MAREK ŁUCZAK: - Polish media are reporting Your mission in Syria on a regular basis. Are far away from Aleppo now?
FR. MARIUSZ BOGUSZEWSKI: - We are in the very Aleppo, exactly in the centre of the old city.
400 thousand inhabitant have probably returned their homes. Does it mean that the situation is getting stable there?
Indeed more and more often one can see returning Syrians. People are returning their homes, trying to rebuild them from ruins. What is interesting, among Christian families are those families which had given keys to parish priests and parishioners staying there, before escaping, so that the latter ones would look after their households.
What is shocking beside the ruins from your perspective?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of orphaned children and, as it is obvious, they are suffering the most. Sometimes their situation is complicated by the fact that not only are their parents dead, but also their grandparents.
I understand that you are working for charity purpose.
Absolutely, we are. What is important, some people live thanks to our help as it is not only single but also constant help. Recently a special kitchen has been created thanks to which it is possible to give 10 thousand meals to people a day. The cost of the action is covered with our money. We also help ill people – first we started caring about children and now we can also give medical care to adults.
Can you still hear artillery shootings in Aleppo?
Unfortunately, there has no peace here yet. Just behind the border of our city there is an army and we can hear shoots. One and a half month ago a bomb was thrown onto the house of nuns.
And what is the situation in Lebanon like?
On our way back we are going to visit Lebanon. We are also trying to take care of the local people there as much as we can. Lebanon is a country inhabited by relatively small population, and the wave of Syrian refugees is unimaginable. Certainly, it generates a lot of problems, which we are trying to solve. Refugees do not have permission to build their houses, so they live in rented garages or makeshift houses or shelters. Moreover, there is unemployment and poverty. A few hundred people arrive at one camp every day in order to eat something in our canteen. We hope that the situation will get better.
(AA)
„Niedziela” 38/2017