Syria (MNN) — A year ago today, Syrian rebels marched into Damascus, capping a lightning offensive and ending the decades-long Assad regime.
“Many people are talking about it, this anniversary. They’re planning to make it a national holiday,” says Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon, who recently visited Syria. “However, people are very cautious, especially the Christians.”
That caution is well merited. Sectarian violence has checkered the new government’s first year, especially among minority Druze, Alawite, and Christian communities. Nuna describes it as “the waiting season” to see what direction the nation will go.
U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio meets President of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa in New York City, New York on 22 September 2025 (Photo by U.S. Department of State via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Still, Syria’s leaders press forward. Last week, the administration welcomed a delegation from the United Nations Security Council — only one of many efforts to reforge ties with the international community.
But for many Syrian families, the nation’s political complexities simply no longer matter.
“Some of them are just saying, ‘You know what, we don’t care. We just want to live,’” says Nuna. “They’re not even thinking about what Syria will be. Will it be allied with Israel? Will [there] be expansion? Will the Galilee be taken? They’re not even talking about it.”
Life remains extremely hard, even for Syrians who are not displaced. Inflation is high. Nuna says the government is planning a 400% increase in electricity prices. “People cannot afford this because the wages have not gone up,” she says.
One NGO that Nuna visited in Syria serves many displaced people. She heard story after story of tragedy — destruction, killing, suicide, and abuse. One boy lost his father. His mother had to work and left him in the care of others who beat him so badly he suffered brain damage.
“This is real life here, and what can we do? What can we do?” says Nuna. “Seeing kids like that is difficult. You just look at it, and you see these are effects of war, and this is something that men should not be living with.”
Syrian children (photo courtesy of Jonathan Ramalho via Unsplash)
Although that NGO in Syria can’t meet every need that comes its way, they do what they can as the hands and feet of Christ. Nuna says that the organization is also preparing a Christmas celebration and sharing the Christmas story. “This is a beautiful thing to see, just to see that light in the midst of the darkness there,” she says.
Please remember Syria in your prayers. Ask for God’s mercy and His gospel of peace to spread across Syria. To learn more about Triumphant Mercy Lebanon’s outreach to Syrian refugees within Lebanon, visit their website.
*Pseudonym
Header photo: A gathering of the people and residents of Daraa city in Al-Karama and Al-Hurriya Square after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad (Photo, caption courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman via Unsplash)
