Syria's Christians, Muslims Unite to Support Children of Daesh Sex Slaves
GENOA (Sputnik) – The Christian bishop and Muslim mufti of Syria's Aleppo are working together to help the children of women who had been kidnapped and raped by Daesh register for an official name, Andrea Avveduto, communications chief for Pro Terra Sancta, a non-profit association operating in Syria, said.
"We are doing a lot for orphans — for children of women who were kidnapped by IS (Daesh) militants. There are 30,000 orphans in Syria who were born by women who were kidnapped by IS. They were just sex slaves of terrorists, and these children do not yet have the possibility to be registered [as a citizen] with a name, and so they cannot have a future. They cannot be registered because for the state, they are sons born in sin, outside of marriage, so it is not allowed,” Avveduto said.
The association is working with Syria's Muslim religious officials on this initiative, dubbed "One name one future," to create a law that would allow these children have a name and be registered as citizens, Avveduto explained.
"Because if they have a name, in future they will be able to have a life, to get an education,” he continued.
The project is supported by bishop George Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, and Mahmoud Akam, Mufti of Aleppo, who first recognized the social emergency.
"These children are everywhere in Syria. Just in Aleppo, there are 5,000. It’s catastrophic. The idea of this project was generated together by the bishop of Aleppo and mufti of Aleppo. It’s the first multi-religious project in Syria since the beginning of the war,” Avveduto said.
The initiative is currently being promoted through four centers in eastern Aleppo, where the religious community takes care of the children, teaches them "to speak, to read, to hope, with a lot of psychological effort."
"We teach them to write, to draw. These children draw horrible pictures – bombs or soldiers or people dead,” he continued.
Apart from helping the marginalized children, Pro Terra Sancta is also trying to find permanent jobs for mothers.
"Negotiations with the parliament are difficult, but there is a possibility [of getting its support], because the Mufti also spoke to them. If the Muslims and the Christians are together, there is a hope to win the battle,” he said.
The presence of the Pro Terra Sancta non-profit association, which is run by the Franciscan friars, in the Idlib province of Syria is a unique situation in which the charity's workers are living under the threat of bombings and hiding their Christian symbols to help local civilians of all creeds satisfy basic needs and survive during the war.
"We are doing a lot for orphans — for children of women who were kidnapped by IS (Daesh) militants. There are 30,000 orphans in Syria who were born by women who were kidnapped by IS. They were just sex slaves of terrorists, and these children do not yet have the possibility to be registered [as a citizen] with a name, and so they cannot have a future. They cannot be registered because for the state, they are sons born in sin, outside of marriage, so it is not allowed,” Avveduto said.
The association is working with Syria's Muslim religious officials on this initiative, dubbed "One name one future," to create a law that would allow these children have a name and be registered as citizens, Avveduto explained.
"Because if they have a name, in future they will be able to have a life, to get an education,” he continued.
The project is supported by bishop George Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, and Mahmoud Akam, Mufti of Aleppo, who first recognized the social emergency.
"These children are everywhere in Syria. Just in Aleppo, there are 5,000. It’s catastrophic. The idea of this project was generated together by the bishop of Aleppo and mufti of Aleppo. It’s the first multi-religious project in Syria since the beginning of the war,” Avveduto said.
The initiative is currently being promoted through four centers in eastern Aleppo, where the religious community takes care of the children, teaches them "to speak, to read, to hope, with a lot of psychological effort."
"We teach them to write, to draw. These children draw horrible pictures – bombs or soldiers or people dead,” he continued.
Apart from helping the marginalized children, Pro Terra Sancta is also trying to find permanent jobs for mothers.
"Negotiations with the parliament are difficult, but there is a possibility [of getting its support], because the Mufti also spoke to them. If the Muslims and the Christians are together, there is a hope to win the battle,” he said.
The presence of the Pro Terra Sancta non-profit association, which is run by the Franciscan friars, in the Idlib province of Syria is a unique situation in which the charity's workers are living under the threat of bombings and hiding their Christian symbols to help local civilians of all creeds satisfy basic needs and survive during the war.