Syria (MNN) — Another windfall comes to Syria this week as the EU lifts economic sanctions against it. One report explains some EU measures remain in place as the bloc closely watches where Syria’s new government takes the nation. But EU diplomats say lifted sanctions will reestablish the ties of Syrian banks to the rest of the world.
This development comes a week after the president of the United States made a similar pledge to remove sanctions on Syria.
“It sounds like the push is for other Arab nations — like Saudi, like Qatar — to make a huge push of investment into Syria to reestablish, rebuild infrastructure, recreate jobs, create opportunities for Syrians once again,” says Samuel* with Redemptive Stories.
“Syria, before the war, was very self-sufficient. They have a lot of industrial experience and skills. Even before the war, [they were] quite tied off from the rest of the world and able to exist very comfortably in that kind of environment.”
Boy sitting in a broken car in Syria. (Photo courtesy of Ahmed akacha/Pexels)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised to make Syria a place where all communities are protected. But episodes of sectarian violence have challenged that. Hundreds were killed in the early March attacks on predominantly Alawite villages. Syria’s Druze community has also been impacted by violence.
“The Christians are asking themselves, ‘When will our turn be?’” says Samuel. “So there’s still deep concern and fear among all the minorities that this new government does not have the right visions of what a pluralistic society could look like for them.”
Find your place in the story
It’s a new economic season for Syria, but there’s a deeper reality facing the global Church.
“It is a great opportunity for the Church to stand with the Syrian church and say, ‘No, we will walk with you through these waters, and we will help you and invest in you,’” says Samuel. “We’re already seeing that change in some way, shape, or form occur. More organizations have been able to go in after the fall of Assad’s [regime] to help, and [the fact of] these sanctions being removed will even help more.”
Pray for Syrian believers. Years of economic challenges have pushed many Christians to leave their homeland. Today, the threat of persecution adds another layer of impetus. Yet Samuel says many who could leave instead choose to stay for the sake of Christ.
“They’re saying that more than ever, they’re seeing other minority groups like the Alawites and the Druze respond to the gospel — and the Kurds in the North.”
*Name changed for security
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).
