The Antiochian Levant of Life

Dr. Michel E. Abs

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches

As if man-made destruction was not enough, nature came to add to the tragedies of our people in the East, the East of Christianity, where the disciples were  first called Christians, and from which the message spread from its shores and across the ruggedness of its mountains, to the whole world.

Siege, destruction and homelessness, for which the East of Antioch has always been a scene, starting with the devastation of Palestine, to the devastation of Lebanon, to the dismemberment of Iraq and the Levant, were all man-made, and  this according to previous staging and design.

What is this coincidence that these countries, one after the other, were systematically destroyed, their societies disintegrated, their economies dissolved, and their peoples displaced, thus becoming a theater of military operations, a habitat for terrorism, and a scope of violence that is unparalleled in modern history?

At the outset is Palestine, the first in the “epic” of destruction, languishing under occupation, overrun by settlements, its people subjected to harassing its people round -the- clock, and preventing Palestinians from leading their normal lives, not to mention arrests, home demolitions, and the uprooting of olive trees, of which a popular poem says “if their planter knew, oil would have become tears.” Do the organizations concerned with childhood not see the situation of children in Palestine?

Next to behold is Lebanon, the second in the "epic" of destruction. Its people have been evacuated, and those who remain steadfastly rooted in it have been reduced to misery, disease and loss. Its thriving economy has withered, its arts have perished, and it at present it has reached a state that the Lebanese had never dreamt of, even in their nightmares. Its brilliant sectors have been gradually destroyed, following the economic, health, educational and tourism have come to a collapse in the furnace of a public debt, a furnace to which inside parties have contributed as much as outside parties have , not to mention the equal obliviousness that has been induced by both  on a general loss of general awareness. Moreover, the investment of the inherent wealth of its natural resources is being prevented.

Then there is Iraq, the third in the "epic" of destruction.  Its people, whose unity had been remarkable, has been torn apart, as  it has been transformed into rival factions. While it is in fact the owner of the largest oil reserves in the world, it has been transformed into a society pervaded by poverty with its population that had previously been an exemplar  in generosity and prosperity  has been displaced to the four corners of the world. Is it normal to besiege a country of the size of Iraq for a decade, killing its children, making its people fall prey to disease, and ending the whole matter with the apology that all what has preceded was due to a "false address" with  no one questioning such a statement and no one being charged with accountability for the harm that was done?

Next comes al-Sham - Syria, as the fourth in the "epic" of destruction. Its society was torn apart, its people were displaced, its economy was destroyed, notwithstanding an earthquake that has come to wipe out part of its northern cities and destabilize some of the stability it had barely begun to enjoy after a decade of wars and sabotage. Al-Sham, where signs of Christian expanse fill many a place, has become threatened in its economy and productive sectors, after it had been the only country in the world that was not in a state of debt as it had enjoyed full self-sufficiency.

All deadly tools have been used against these societies wherever they could have worked. Internal divisions, external invasions, gangs of terrorists, a livelihood blockade, a monetary blockade, so-called sanctions, media distortion, and the list goes on.

Today, as Levantine Christians, we look at Jerusalem and Antioch alike with a look of pain and hope. We are grieved by what is happening in the societies that had been called “Antioch and All the East,” and we hope that our Christianity, in the image and likeness of our Christ, is unshakable. It is not surprising that the legend of the phoenix that rises from its ashes, is a product of the imagination of our people. We have been living through the resurrection for thousands of years, and the Lord embodied it among us in as the most sublime example. He accompanies us every day, in every decision we make and in every step we take. Both His love and example inspire us.

Time passes, events take place, make their effects, then end, and we will remain as long as the universe remains, empowered by the name of the Savior!