Inside a Syrian monastery desecrated by “jihadists,” Matanios Dalloul stood alone by the shattered altar where a once-thriving community celebrated Christmas before the threat of death drove them out.
The 62-year-old is one of 20 Christians remaining in the central town of Al-Qaryatain out of the community that boasted 900 members before conflict broke out a decade ago.
Tracing a cross against his body between piles of broken stone, the lone parishioner prayed for long life for the remnants of a dwindling community which has nobody left under the age of 40.
“The holidays need people, they need young boys and girls, not just piles of stone,” Dalloul told AFP, gesturing at what remains of the mud brick walls of the Mar Elian monastery.
“It is people who generate holiday cheer, and if people do not return, there will be no joy.”
The town of Al-Qaryatain in Homs province was once viewed as a symbol of coexistence between Christian and Muslim communities who had lived together for centuries before “jihadists” of the Islamic State group seized the area in 2015.
IS fighters razed the fifth-century Syriac Catholic monastery of Mar Elian (Saint Elian) and abducted hundreds of Christians, who were locked in an underground dungeon in the desert for 25 days before being freed.
Six years have passed since Russian-backed government forces ousted “jihadists” from the town but most of the Christians who fled have not returned and those who remain have neither a church nor a priest to turn to this holiday season.
“The last time the churches of Al-Qaryatain celebrated Christmas was in 2015 before the arrival of IS,” said Dalloul whose three children have all emigrated to Europe or Canada.
“Now, there are no open churches, nor a priest to oversee Christmas mass,” he said.
Dalloul is not alone in his disappointment.
Bassam Debbas said he does not have a single relative left in Syria and will therefore spend Christmas alone, working in a small workshop where he produces grape molasses.
“I don’t have anyone left, not a father, nor a mother, nor siblings, nor a wife... I will spend the holiday as though it is any other day, any other working day,” the 61-year-old said.
Debbas returned to Al-Qaryatain this year to resume the family trade of molasses production from a small workshop where grapes are fermented and then cooked.
Constant power cuts make the cooking a challenge but he is trying to maintain bare minimum production levels despite the odds.
Outside his home, the street is empty. Traces of IS rule are still visible on the crater-riddled walls of neighbouring buildings, most of which are either levelled or abandoned.—AFP