Syria (MNN) — Weeks of sectarian violence in Syria have triggered an influx of refugees into Lebanon. According to Amnesty International, militias affiliated with the current government deliberately killed more than 100 Alawite people in towns along the coast.
Lebanon offers a haven.
“New Christian families, new Alawite families, and new Kurdish families have come to Lebanon seeking shelter, fearing retribution from the strong Sunni regime right now,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says.
Why are Alawites targeted?
Syria’s former dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and his father Hafez before him, are from the Alawite sect, a minority offshoot of Shia Islam. When the Assad family took power, starting with Hafez in 1970, they heavily staffed key positions in the military, intelligence, and government with Alawites, often from their region.
The Assad family. Hafez al-Assad and his wife, Mrs Anisa Makhlouf. On the back row, from left to right: Maher, Bashar, Basil, Majid, and Bushra al-Assad.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Over time, this tight link between the regime and the Alawite community created the perception that the Alawites as a whole were behind or benefited from the Assad regime’s rule. So, when the regime committed atrocities during the Syrian civil war (e.g., mass detentions, chemical attacks, sieges), people began to associate the regime with the sect.
After Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in December, hundreds of the Syrian refugees Heart for Lebanon cared for returned home. “Early on, we [saw] fewer people in our aid distribution, only to see those numbers not only returning but also increasing,” Melki says.
“Since the last three weeks of this infighting between the Alawites and the Sunnis, Lebanon has seen an increase in the refugee population coming from Syria. They see and are afraid that the new Syrian regime would be a more Islamic regime, with no room for diverse religious families,” he continues.
“More than 60,000 individuals have crossed our borders.”
Find your place in the story
Newly arrived refugees are scattered across northern Lebanon, predominantly in 27 villages near the border with Syria. Local officials cited 20,553 new individuals in this region as of April 2.
As they meet today’s needs, Heart for Lebanon teams offer hope for tomorrow. “The more they experience these ethnic cleansing and wars in Syria, [the more] you see people seeking the truth, and the truth is only found in the Gospel,” Melki says.
“We have seen a significant turn toward the Gospel, with people desiring to hear and learn more about the God of Christianity. God has given us amazing opportunities to love on, care for, and share a word of encouragement.”
You can help by supporting Heart for Lebanon’s efforts here.
Header image courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.
