Do not forget that you too were once war victims and sought a better life outside your country, a Syrian priest, whose community provides a meal a day for 10,000 people in Aleppo, is urging the Maltese.

“Malta, once torn by war violence, is today a country of peace. People come here on holiday or they come to seek refuge – and the latter are not easily accepted by some,” Fr Ziad Hilal, from Damascus, told this newspaper.

“Nobody leaves their country if they are happy there, and don’t forget that you too were once refugees or migrants.”

READ: The cartoonist that scarred Syria's regime

Fr Hilal is at the moment based in western Aleppo after spending six years in Homs, where he was project director of the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS).

He spoke to Times of Malta from the Aid to the Church in Need Malta offices in Attard following the launch of the ACN charity’s report called Religious Freedom in the World.

The international charity supports projects undertaken by local churches in over 140 countries, with Fr Hilal overseeing ACN’s humanitarian projects in Syria and Lebanon.

In Aleppo, there are two centres – one of which was bombed about two years ago – where JRS, with ACN’s support, provides educational facilities and humanitarian help. A kitchen service feeds 10,000 people daily.

This is the only meal in the day for some, as there is no water and electricity service in the city.

“If we gave people rice, they would not be able to cook it at home. There is no gas, no electricity and fuel is expensive.”

We know that we will leave our homes, but we don’t know whether we will return home safe

The centre runs on a generator which produces power between 9am and midnight. With winter approaching, the cold will be another challenge to overcome.

The centre also provides a secure place where university students can study.

“Aleppo is probably the most dangerous city in the world, but life goes on. We know that we will leave our homes, but we don’t know whether we will return home safe,” Fr Hilal said.

Only three weeks ago, a young Christian man was killed by a bomb two days before his wedding.

“I had just seen him on Wednesday afternoon as he was distributing invitations for his wedding on Sunday, accompanied by his brother and friend. By Friday morning he was dead, together with two of his friends.”

Fr Hilal’s community and other humanitarian associations in the area help people of all faiths.

“The problem in Syria is not between Muslims and Christians. The problem is a power issue,” he said, adding that the Christian mission in Syria is to bring peace.

“Syria is our land, and it’s hard to imagine Syria without Christians. But we will not fight this war with violence.

“We are not indifferent. We just choose white, the colour of peace, over black. Our religion is one of peace, and as Pope Francis said, forgiveness, reconciliation and dialogue are the keys to peace in Syria.”

Fr Hilal noted that Malta too, as an EU member state, could speak out about Syria and urge its peers to act, rather than just talk about what was going on.

But is there still hope for Syria?

“Always. Without hope, there is death. Our God is the Saviour of hope, not of death.”

If you would like to help, go to www.acnmalta.org or get in touch on 2148 7818 or info@acnmalta.org.

Religious freedom: the numbers

• Since the middle of 2014, violent Islamist attacks have taken place in one in five countries around the world, from Sweden to Australia and including 17 African nations and at least five countries in Western Europe.

• Fundamentalist or militant organisations are responsible for persecution in 12 of the 23 worst-offending countries.

• Islamism and hyper-extremism have been a key driver in the explosion of refugee numbers, which, according to UN figures, rose by 5.8 million to a new high of 65.3 million in 2015.

• 38 of the total 196 countries worldwide showed unmistakable evidence of significant violations of religious freedom.

Islamist groups lead on violence, says Religious Freedom in the World report

Governments are no longer the main perpetrators of religious persecution. Non-state actors, especially Islamist groups, have become the leading culprits, according to the 2016 Religious Freedom in the World report by Aid to the Church in Need.

The type of violence adopted by Islamic State is “unprecedented in its violent expression”, and its hyper-extremism is undermining global peace and stability, with an impact felt in the Middle East, Africa and the West, the report says.

In the West, this extremism risks destabilising the socio-religious fabric, with countries sporadically targeted by fanatics while under pressure to receive unprecedented numbers of refugees. “Manifest ripple effects include the rise of right-wing and populist groups, restrictions on free movement, discrimination and violence against minority faiths and decline of social cohesion, including in state schools.”

Such problems are compounded by a sudden increase in fundamentalist Islamist attacks on the West.

The report argues that Islamic State’s crimes against Christians, Yazidis, Mandeans and other communities constitute genocide. This is echoed in the foreword by Fr Jacques Mourad, a Syriac-Catholic monk who was held by Isis in Syria for five months before escaping in October 2015.

Fr Mourad insists that people of all faiths have to find a way to respect one another and their differences, adding that if the cycle of violence is to be broken, “we need to replace war with peace… It is time to cast aside religious hatred and personal interests and learn to love one another, as our faiths call us to do.”