The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

Sister Nabila Saleh, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Rosary and ACN’s local project partner, says that she is not going anywhere. “We need medicine. Hospitals have been destroyed. Our school has also been damaged, but we’re not leaving. People have nothing, not even the essentials. Where would we go? To die in the street?"

“The hatred, which we have unfortunately already been experiencing for too long, will increase even more, and the ensuing spiral of violence will create more destruction. Everything seems to speak of death."

ACN was one of the first international organizations to initiate relief efforts after the earthquake, since it was already present on the ground and had local trusted partners in place. The Catholic charity provided material, psychological, and educational assistance.

The Christian community in Iraq has once again been brought to its knees by a tragedy; fire at a Christian wedding in Qaraqosh, Iraq, left more than 100 people dead and 150  injured.

Due to visa restrictions and financial difficulty, many young Christians in Syria and Lebanon were unable to travel to Portugal for the event. But with the help of ACN, they organized their own activities, in parallel with the official WYD, and participated in the experience.

Over the past 30 years, ACN has been involved in more than 700 projects for Christians in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, including over 100 in partnership with the Latin Patriarchate. But according to Akroush, this cooperation is about to be more significant than ever before.