Displaying items by tag: Syrian refugees

They are the first cases to be detected among Syrians living in Jordan-based refugee camps, the UN refugee agency in Jordan said on 8th September ‘It is a reminder that everyone has been affected by this epidemic, and solutions must be addressed through international solidarity and cooperation.’ At the time of writing the two affected refugees have been transferred from the Azraq camp to the Dead Sea Isolation Site. Testing plus isolation procedures are being implemented for all individuals who have been in contact with them. The Azraq camp is Jordan's second-largest with almost 37,000 refugees. Jordan hosts over 1.2 million Syrian refugees, including 650,000 registered with the UN. To date, the kingdom has reported 2,478 coronavirus cases and 17 related deaths.

Syrian refugees usually don’t see beyond their own needs, but Turkey’s missionaries have seen a change. When food trucks arrive at settlements, the predominantly Muslim Syrians clamour for distribution to begin. But recently women went straight to the director and said, ‘First we want prayer. This child is crippled, he’s an orphan, please pray for him. We don’t want food, just prayer.’ A great awakening has begun among camp refugees; they knew Jesus as a prophet, but now realise that he is the God of Christians and he heals and works miracles today.

Four brothers and their families in a wealthy Syrian suburb lost homes, cars, and belongings through shelling. They moved to the relative safety of a new city, sharing just one apartment (16 children, parents, and grandparents). The inflated rent has to be paid on a daily basis. Their vulnerability and poverty were difficult to adjust to. Family members suffered stress-related ailments, including ulcers. A pastor coordinating a Lebanese relief project visited them and asked what they needed. They said they wanted to be treated like humans not animals. One said his brain had stopped and he couldn’t think ahead: ‘How can I rebuild my life, when I now have no home and no money?' The pastor said there is hope, because Jesus gives us hope. He prayed with the sick family members. Since that visit, the family has received some food assistance through the church, and a few of them are attending Bible study sessions.

‘It was as if God had prepared us for this,’ said Pastor Hikmat Kashouh of his congregation. He is recalling the time when over a million Syrian refugees started pouring into Lebanon, fleeing civil war. Resurrection Church, Beirut had already built strong connections with local Syrian workers. But what the church was less prepared for was the radical transformation it would take to welcome former enemies as equal members of their church family. From an unremarkable congregation of ninety people to one that welcomes 1,300 people and broadcasts to thousands across the Arab world via SAT-7, Resurrection Church has experienced a great transformation in the last ten years among Arabs, Kurds, and Muslim converts. To read the inspiring story of conversions, click the ‘More’ button.