Editor’s note: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck across northwest Syria and southern Türkiye on February 6, resulting in the death of more than 40,000 people and leaving many others injured. Syria, which has been ravaged by the war, is now facing a critical situation with fragile infrastructure and inadequate international aid, compounded by the earthquake and hundreds of aftershocks. Churches have been destroyed and many Christian families are displaced. Sara Savva, deputy director-general of the country’s largest Christian humanitarian organization, speaks out about the impact of the earthquake on the people and their actions.
China Christian Daily: Can you first introduce yourself and your organization?
Sara Savva: My name is Sara Savva - I have worked as Deputy Director-General at GOPA-DERD, Syria, for the past six years. The Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development (DERD), is the only official humanitarian arm of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (GOPA) established in 1994. It is currently the largest faith-based and vetted low-risk organization in Syria through INGOs partners. With 44 offices and 43 service centers, GOPA-DERD's total of 1500+ main full-time/part-time staff and out-reach mobile teams, implement a wide range of programs in 13 out of 14 governorates in Syria, that address all the needs of those affected, IDPs and refugee returnees.
After reaching global media visibility and recognition, GOPA-DERD, through its bilateral agreements with 16 UN and international partners, has launched its comprehensive set of programs that have today reached more than 5 million beneficiaries last year. These programs fall under the sectors of Livelihood (Long-term: VT, Grants & Short-term: Cash (MPCA)/Voucher-assistance), FSA/FSL, FI/NFI distribution, Protection, Education, Health, Shelter & WASH.
China Christian Daily: What’s going on in Syria after the earthquake? What happened to the church and Christians there?
Sara Savva: Syria, already a war zone for 11 years, brings despair and deep misery to survivors of the earthquake that struck the country during the break of dawn last Monday. With an infrastructure that is already fragile due to the war, the earthquake and hundreds of aftershocks leave very little chance for survival.
For now, the confirmed numbers are as follows: more than 1414 deaths and 2349 injuries, and 18,500 families accommodated in collective shelters. The search for survivors is still ongoing, for this reason, we still expect these numbers to escalate. Search for survivors continues amidst the harsh winter temperatures that have dropped excessively these past few days, as winter really set in a week ago in Syria.
As for the Church and just like all other institutions, the Church was affected by the earthquake. We have completely and partially destroyed Churches. Unfortunately, the historical Church of Antioch “Where the disciples were first called Christians” was totally wiped out in the city of Antioch. It does not exist anymore. A large population of Christian families is now displaced, after losing their collapsed homes that cannot be rehabilitated anymore.
China Christian Daily: What have you done to help the victims and the affected areas? What about other churches and Christian organizations?
Sara Savva: GOPA-DERD team has been on the field since the early hours of Monday morning providing emergency response to affected people in Aleppo, Latakia, and Hama governorates, most impacted by the earthquake.
The team is visiting families and individuals affected by the earthquake and who are currently staying in shelters. Besides distributing relief items such as winterization, food items, ready-to-eat meals, and non-food items including heaters and kitchen sets, GOPA-DERD’s team is assessing the needs of the affected persons and responding by providing medical in-kind equipment (oximeters, glucose meters, blood pressure monitors), medicine and transporting physically injured families to nearby hospitals to receive medical attention. GOPA-DERD engineering team is also assessing the situation of the building’s infrastructure in the aforementioned location in preparation for rehabilitation.
All churches are doing their best to support the people, but the need is massive and the funding need remains staggering. GOPA being the largest Church in Syria – and in the region -- including more than 90% of the total number of Christians, is carrying out the largest-scale response, though it has the most limited resources, being a national Church and it is not supported by any other international church from the outside.
China Christian Daily: What kind of help do you expect from other countries?
Sara Savva: Fear grows for survivors – the question they now ask is “what’s next? What kind of future awaits us?” Especially that what has collapsed are not just buildings, these are people’s homes, collapsing onto the ground. These homes are all that was left for many people, after 11 years of war, many families already lost too much, and already fled from one area to another as IDPs in search of a new, safer life. Many families and individuals have worked their whole lives to pay the cost of their small apartments – now vanished into thin air, what used to be their only refuge and safe haven.
From a humanitarian perspective, people in this part of the world have had enough – they count on the world to speak on their behalf for the lifting of the suffocating sanctions that are only affecting the people, and not otherwise affecting those it is meant to affect. (The United States issued a six-month sanctions exemption for humanitarian efforts in Syria on February 10, editor's note.)
Lifting those sanctions means more medicine coming into the country; means more spare parts and equipment being bought to carry out maintenance for the water purification systems, to stop the spread of cholera; means thousands of people getting their jobs back at shut-down factories and providing for their families; means aid can land in Syria via planes from all parts of the world; means Syrians’ can use their passports to travel outside the country where so far, less than 10 countries around the world accept to approve their visas. This is what lifting the sanctions actually means. We have long been sounding alarms about the lack of clean water, food, and medical care.
For this reason, funding is needed on a large scale. Just a few weeks from now, the actual impact will begin to appear. We need to help restore people's livelihoods - hundreds if not thousands of affected people will be starting their lives from scratch. This will be our mission, to make sure it happens. They are counting on us.
China Christian Daily: As many Chinese Christians know little about Christianity in Syria, can you introduce a general picture of the church in Syria to us? How is the church life there?
Sara Savva: Christians in Syria are as ancient as Christianity itself; also known as ‘Early Christians’. As you may know, the disciples of Jesus were called Christians for the first time in the city of Antioch. At a certain time, during the crusades, the Christians formed 97% of the Syrian population. Later, and due to successive disasters, this number started to decrease till it reached now less than 4% of the whole population. In Syria, we have very unique Christian heritage sites including monasteries and churches that date back to the fourth century A.D. In fact, GOPA resides at the corner of “straight street” mentioned in the Bible, where Saint Paul once walked.
We have been living in peace in this country and in harmony with our Muslim brothers and sisters. However, as the situation in Syria is getting worse and worse, Christians are leaving the country, especially since foreign countries offer a new life with new opportunities. For this reason, we are expecting the number of Christians to decline, more and more.
China Christian Daily: Do you have any words for the church in China? What can we pray for you?
Sara Savva: Your brothers are in need of your support. Support them to stay in their homeland, and give them the reasons to remain in Syria. Do not send them ships and planes to leave. It is not the kind of support that they desire, not for the past 11 years. Pray for us, as the Christians of Antioch are carrying a heavy cross today, which is a blessing as well.
2月6日，土耳其南部和叙利亚北部发生7.8级地震，并有多次余震。在叙利亚，受影响地区生活着数以百万计因该国内战流离失所的人，很多人生活在临时营地。叙利亚经过多年内战，基础设施薄弱，缺乏国际援助，形式非常严峻。古老的安提阿教会被彻底摧毁，许多基督徒家庭失去家园。该国最大的基督教人道主义组织副总干事萨拉（Sara Savva）讲述了地震的影响以及他们的应对。
您能介绍一下自己和所在机构吗？
我叫萨拉，过去六年一直在叙利亚 GOPA-DERD 担任副总干事。安条克（注：圣经中的安提阿）暨全东方希腊正教牧首区（GOPA）于1994年成立的普世关系与发展部（DERD）是该教区唯一的官方人道主义机构，也是目前叙利亚最大的以信仰为基础且认证为低风险的组织。GOPA-DERD有44个办事处和43个服务中心，全职、兼职员工以及外展流动团队共1500多名，在叙利亚14个省份中的13个开展了广泛的项目，旨在满足受灾难影响的人，国内流离失所者和返回的难民的需要。
得到全球媒体的报道和认可后，GOPA-DERD通过与16个联合国和国际合作伙伴的双边协议，启动了全面项目，去年有500万人从这些项目中受益。项目涵盖生计（长期：VT, 捐赠；短期：现金 (MPCA)/代金券援助），FSA/FSL, FI/NFI分配，保护、教育、健康、住所和WASH。
叙利亚震后情况如何？教会情况怎么样，多少教堂受损害，基督徒情形如何？
叙利亚内战已经持续了11年，基础设施损毁严重，人们在上周一凌晨发生的地震以及随后的余震中存活的概率微乎其微。
目前已经确认的伤亡情况如下（2月14日）：超过1414人死亡，2349人受伤，18500户家庭被安置在集体庇护所。叙利亚的冬天在一周前才真正开始，过去几天气温急剧下降，救援工作仍在进行中，伤亡数字预计还会增加。
和其他机构一样，教会也受到地震影响。或完全损毁，或部分毁坏。不幸的是，历史悠久的安提阿教会，门徒最初被称为基督徒的地方，被彻底摧毁，不复存在。大量基督徒家庭流离失所，房屋损毁，无法修复。
您所在的机构为受灾地区提供了哪些帮助？其他教会和基督教组织呢？
GOPA-DERD团队从周一凌晨开始就一直在现场为受地震影响最严重的阿勒颇省、拉塔基亚省和哈马省的灾民提供应急响应。
该团队在探访受地震影响、目前住在避难所的家庭和个人。除了分发防寒用品、食物、方便食品、保暖设备和厨房用具外，该团队也在评估受影响人员的需求，提供医疗设备（血氧仪、血糖仪、血压计）和药品，帮助将受伤的家庭送往附近的医院接受治疗。GOPA-DERD工程团队也在评估上述地点的建筑物以及基础设施情况，为修复做准备。
所有教会都在尽最大努力帮助人民，但需求太大，资金缺口很大。GOPA是叙利亚乃至该地区最大的教会，有着该地区超过90%的基督徒数量。该教会以最大的规模应对灾难，尽管拥有的资源有限，因为作为国家教会，她没有得到任何其他国际教会的支持。
您希望其他国家能提供什么样的帮助？
幸存者越来越恐惧，他们在问“接下来该怎么办？”因为倒塌的不仅是建筑物，是人们的家园。对很多人来说，那是他们拥有的全部。在11年的战争中，许多家庭失去了太多，他们流离失所，从一个地区逃到另一个地区，为了能有一个新的、更安全的生活。许多家庭和个人一生都在努力支付所生活的小公寓的费用，但现在不复存在了，那是他们唯一的避难所、避风港。
从人道主义的角度看，这个地区的人们承受了太多--他们希望世界为他们发声，解除令人窒息的制裁，这些制裁只会影响人民，但影响不到他们想制裁的人。
取消制裁，更多药品可以进来；可以购买更多设备维护净水系统，阻止霍乱的传播；成千上万的人可以在被关闭的工厂中找到工作，养家糊口；世界各地的救援飞机可以降落在叙利亚；叙利亚人可以使用护照出国旅行，现在世界上只有不到10个国家批准他们的签证。这些是解除制裁的实际意义。长期以来，我们一直缺乏干净的水、食物和医疗服务。（注：美国财政部2月9日宣布放宽对叙利亚的制裁，但仅限与叙利亚地震救灾需求相关的物资交易，期限为180天。）
在这种情况下，这里需要大规模的资金支持。几周之后，实际的影响会开始显现。我们需要帮助恢复人们的生计——数百甚至数千名受影响的人将从头开始他们的生活。这是我们的使命，一定要帮助他们，他们指望着我们帮助他们。
大部分中国的基督徒对叙利亚基督教的情况知之甚少，您能介绍一下叙利亚基督教的情况吗？那里的人们怎样过教会生活？
叙利亚的基督教和基督教本身一样古老。耶稣的门徒最开始被称为基督徒就是在安提阿。在十字军东征期间的某个时期，基督徒占叙利亚人口的97%。后来由于接连不断的灾难，占比开始下降，现在不到总人口的4%。叙利亚有非常独特的基督教遗址，包括可追溯到公元4世纪的修道院和教堂。GOPA就位于圣经中提到的“直街”（注：使徒行传9章11节）的拐角处，使徒保罗曾经走过的地方。
我们一直在这个国家和平地生活，与穆斯林兄弟姐妹和睦相处。然而，随着叙利亚局势越来越糟糕，基督徒在不断流失，国外有新的生活、新的机会。因此，我们预计叙利亚的基督徒人们会越来越少。
您有什么话想对中国教会说吗？我们该如何为你们祷告？
你们的兄弟需要支援，支援他们能留在故土，给他们留在叙利亚的理由。不要派船和飞机来接他们离开，这不是他们想要的支援，过年11年都是如此。为我们祷告，安提阿的基督徒今天背负着沉重的十字架，同时也是一种祝福。
叙利亚基督教人道主义组织副总干事：请帮助我们！
Editor’s note: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck across northwest Syria and southern Türkiye on February 6, resulting in the death of more than 40,000 people and leaving many others injured. Syria, which has been ravaged by the war, is now facing a critical situation with fragile infrastructure and inadequate international aid, compounded by the earthquake and hundreds of aftershocks. Churches have been destroyed and many Christian families are displaced. Sara Savva, deputy director-general of the country’s largest Christian humanitarian organization, speaks out about the impact of the earthquake on the people and their actions.
China Christian Daily: Can you first introduce yourself and your organization?
Sara Savva: My name is Sara Savva - I have worked as Deputy Director-General at GOPA-DERD, Syria, for the past six years. The Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development (DERD), is the only official humanitarian arm of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (GOPA) established in 1994. It is currently the largest faith-based and vetted low-risk organization in Syria through INGOs partners. With 44 offices and 43 service centers, GOPA-DERD's total of 1500+ main full-time/part-time staff and out-reach mobile teams, implement a wide range of programs in 13 out of 14 governorates in Syria, that address all the needs of those affected, IDPs and refugee returnees.
After reaching global media visibility and recognition, GOPA-DERD, through its bilateral agreements with 16 UN and international partners, has launched its comprehensive set of programs that have today reached more than 5 million beneficiaries last year. These programs fall under the sectors of Livelihood (Long-term: VT, Grants & Short-term: Cash (MPCA)/Voucher-assistance), FSA/FSL, FI/NFI distribution, Protection, Education, Health, Shelter & WASH.
China Christian Daily: What’s going on in Syria after the earthquake? What happened to the church and Christians there?
Sara Savva: Syria, already a war zone for 11 years, brings despair and deep misery to survivors of the earthquake that struck the country during the break of dawn last Monday. With an infrastructure that is already fragile due to the war, the earthquake and hundreds of aftershocks leave very little chance for survival.
For now, the confirmed numbers are as follows: more than 1414 deaths and 2349 injuries, and 18,500 families accommodated in collective shelters. The search for survivors is still ongoing, for this reason, we still expect these numbers to escalate. Search for survivors continues amidst the harsh winter temperatures that have dropped excessively these past few days, as winter really set in a week ago in Syria.
As for the Church and just like all other institutions, the Church was affected by the earthquake. We have completely and partially destroyed Churches. Unfortunately, the historical Church of Antioch “Where the disciples were first called Christians” was totally wiped out in the city of Antioch. It does not exist anymore. A large population of Christian families is now displaced, after losing their collapsed homes that cannot be rehabilitated anymore.
China Christian Daily: What have you done to help the victims and the affected areas? What about other churches and Christian organizations?
Sara Savva: GOPA-DERD team has been on the field since the early hours of Monday morning providing emergency response to affected people in Aleppo, Latakia, and Hama governorates, most impacted by the earthquake.
The team is visiting families and individuals affected by the earthquake and who are currently staying in shelters. Besides distributing relief items such as winterization, food items, ready-to-eat meals, and non-food items including heaters and kitchen sets, GOPA-DERD’s team is assessing the needs of the affected persons and responding by providing medical in-kind equipment (oximeters, glucose meters, blood pressure monitors), medicine and transporting physically injured families to nearby hospitals to receive medical attention. GOPA-DERD engineering team is also assessing the situation of the building’s infrastructure in the aforementioned location in preparation for rehabilitation.
All churches are doing their best to support the people, but the need is massive and the funding need remains staggering. GOPA being the largest Church in Syria – and in the region -- including more than 90% of the total number of Christians, is carrying out the largest-scale response, though it has the most limited resources, being a national Church and it is not supported by any other international church from the outside.
China Christian Daily: What kind of help do you expect from other countries?
Sara Savva: Fear grows for survivors – the question they now ask is “what’s next? What kind of future awaits us?” Especially that what has collapsed are not just buildings, these are people’s homes, collapsing onto the ground. These homes are all that was left for many people, after 11 years of war, many families already lost too much, and already fled from one area to another as IDPs in search of a new, safer life. Many families and individuals have worked their whole lives to pay the cost of their small apartments – now vanished into thin air, what used to be their only refuge and safe haven.
From a humanitarian perspective, people in this part of the world have had enough – they count on the world to speak on their behalf for the lifting of the suffocating sanctions that are only affecting the people, and not otherwise affecting those it is meant to affect. (The United States issued a six-month sanctions exemption for humanitarian efforts in Syria on February 10, editor's note.)
Lifting those sanctions means more medicine coming into the country; means more spare parts and equipment being bought to carry out maintenance for the water purification systems, to stop the spread of cholera; means thousands of people getting their jobs back at shut-down factories and providing for their families; means aid can land in Syria via planes from all parts of the world; means Syrians’ can use their passports to travel outside the country where so far, less than 10 countries around the world accept to approve their visas. This is what lifting the sanctions actually means. We have long been sounding alarms about the lack of clean water, food, and medical care.
For this reason, funding is needed on a large scale. Just a few weeks from now, the actual impact will begin to appear. We need to help restore people's livelihoods - hundreds if not thousands of affected people will be starting their lives from scratch. This will be our mission, to make sure it happens. They are counting on us.
China Christian Daily: As many Chinese Christians know little about Christianity in Syria, can you introduce a general picture of the church in Syria to us? How is the church life there?
Sara Savva: Christians in Syria are as ancient as Christianity itself; also known as ‘Early Christians’. As you may know, the disciples of Jesus were called Christians for the first time in the city of Antioch. At a certain time, during the crusades, the Christians formed 97% of the Syrian population. Later, and due to successive disasters, this number started to decrease till it reached now less than 4% of the whole population. In Syria, we have very unique Christian heritage sites including monasteries and churches that date back to the fourth century A.D. In fact, GOPA resides at the corner of “straight street” mentioned in the Bible, where Saint Paul once walked.
We have been living in peace in this country and in harmony with our Muslim brothers and sisters. However, as the situation in Syria is getting worse and worse, Christians are leaving the country, especially since foreign countries offer a new life with new opportunities. For this reason, we are expecting the number of Christians to decline, more and more.
China Christian Daily: Do you have any words for the church in China? What can we pray for you?
Sara Savva: Your brothers are in need of your support. Support them to stay in their homeland, and give them the reasons to remain in Syria. Do not send them ships and planes to leave. It is not the kind of support that they desire, not for the past 11 years. Pray for us, as the Christians of Antioch are carrying a heavy cross today, which is a blessing as well.
Interview: Earthquake Destroys Churches, Displaces Christian Families in Syria
