ICC Note: Aleppo, Syria has been the site of some of the bloodiest and long lasting battles in the Syrian Civil War. Christians and others have fled the city in great numbers. Now, only 10 percent of the original Christian population remains. But churches continue to be full of people, mostly Muslims. According to one 28-year-old Syrian Christian mother, Muslim families are finding refuge in the community and children’s activities taking place at her church. The building has become a safe haven to many families.

11/03/2016 Syria (WWM): Life hasn’t been easy for 28-year-old Syrian mother Kristina, a Christian of Armenian descent, who lived with her husband in Aleppo long before the civil war started in 2011.

It was in that besieged city that Kristina gave birth to her firstborn daughter, 18 months ago. She’s brought the little girl to the house where a World Watch Monitor contact meets her. While her mother talks, the toddler explores the room.

“Please close the door, I’d like to keep an eye on her,” Kristina asks, not letting her child out of her sight.

With the pain still visible in her eyes, Kristina recalls her first days of being a mother in the spring of 2015 – the war raging outside, electricity, gas and water cut off most of the time and her family unable to visit and help her.

“The first two weeks after my daughter was born were the hardest in my life,” Kristina says. “It was so cold that we put our mattresses on the living room floor, the warmest room in the house. There we lived for two weeks on the ground, wrapped in blankets.”

As soon as it was safe, Kristina, her husband and her baby daughter travelled to neighbouring Lebanon to safety. At first it was intended to be a short trip, but when the violence increased and also the Christian part of Aleppo was being bombed, the young family decided to wait for the end of the war before returning to Syria.

“I can’t let my baby girl grow up amidst all those dangers,” Kristina says.

With the violence continuing and worsening, gradually more Christians left Aleppo. In Kristina’s church, now only 10 per cent of the regular church-goers are left, she hears from friends.

“But you know what’s surprising? The church is still full; displaced people take their place. Especially Muslims are coming to the church now,” she says.

In Syria, the Christian children’s activities draw the most attention, Kristina says. A lot of Syrians from other parts of Aleppo – the fighting is heaviest in Muslim areas – have fled to the Christian areas to seek refuge. For many Muslims, it is the first time they have mixed with Christians.

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