Here is a moving testimony given by Rand Mittri from Syria, which she shared with me during the recent World Youth Day Vigil with Pope Francis. Let us pray for Syrians and all who suffer for their faith.

“My name is Rand Mittri. I am 26 years old, and I am from Aleppo, Syria. As you may know, our city has been destroyed, ruined and broken. All meaning of our lives has been stripped from us. We have become the forgotten city.

“It may be difficult for many of you to understand the full breadth of what is happening in my beloved country, Syria. Further, it will be very difficult for me to communicate to you a life of pain in only a few sentences, but I will do my best to share what reality of daily life is for us.

“Every day we live surrounded by suffering, by death. But, just like you, each day we close our doors behind us as we leave for work or for school.

It is hard and painful knowing that in Syria we are constantly surrounded by violence and bloodshed, and worse, there is no escape; no one to help- Rand Mittri, during the World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland

“Unlike many of you, however, we are stunned by fear in that very moment that we will not return to our homes or our families as we left them. Perhaps, we will be killed that day, or perhaps our families will. It is hard and painful knowing that in Syria we are constantly surrounded by violence and bloodshed, and worse, there is no escape; no one to help.

“Is it possible that this is the end, and that we were born to die in pain? Or, are we born to live, and to live life to the fullest? My experience in this war has been harsh, difficult and terrifying. Yet, it has helped me to mature and grow up before my time; to see things in a different perspective.

“I work at the Don Bosco Centre in Aleppo. Our centre receives more than 700 young men and women, coming with a hope to glimpse a smile and hear a word of encouragement. They are simply seeking something that is otherwise lacking in their lives: genuine human treatment.

“For me, it is very difficult to offer joy and faith to others, while I myself have been deprived of these things my entire life.

“Through my short life experience, however, I have learned that my faith in Christ supersedes the circumstances of life. This truth is not conditioned on living a life of peace, free of hardship and pain. More and more, I believe that God exists despite all of our suffering.

“I believe, further, that sometimes through our pain, He teaches us the true meaning of love. My faith in Christ is the reason for my joy and hope. No one will ever be able to steal this true joy from me.

“I thank you all and I earnestly ask you to pray for my beloved country, Syria.”

Grace Ameh is from the Communications Unit, Aid to the Church in Need (Malta).

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