Human Rights Activist John Eibner Describes Violence in Syria
John Eibner
Christians are on the verge of being driven from Syria. That’s the message offered by John Eibner, Ph.D., who testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday June 25, 2013. Eibner, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of Christian Solidary International (CSI-USA), visited Syria the week prior to his appearance before Congress. “The very existence of the religious minorities of the Middle East is under threat,” Eibner told lawmakers.
His testimony is harrowing:
Victims recounted to me details of the religious cleansing of Christian neighborhoods in Homs and Qasair by armed jihadis who threatened them with death and the destruction of their property if they did not leave their homes. A Christian woman told me that before she fled Homs at the beginning of 2012, she had seen the beheading in broad daylight of an Alawite girl who was pulled off a public minibus by armed jihadis. Churches in Homs and Qusair have not only damaged as a result of the exchange of mortars by the Syrian army and rebel forces, but have also been desecrated after falling under the control of the armed opposition.
From credible media reports and interviews with Syrians on the frontline of the conflict, we see that the targeted kidnapping of non-Sunnis is now a regular feature of the Syrian tragedy. I spoke with a Christian who reported that the four cousins of a close Alawite friend were kidnapped and beheaded. A nun told me that she knows a Christian girl who was kidnapped by armed insurgents and is now mentally deranged from the abuse. The victims of kidnapping include priests and prelates. The kidnapping of Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boutros Yazigi while attempting to negotiate the release of two abducted priests is widely interpreted within the Syrian Christian community as a message from the Muslim supremacist opposition to leave the country.
The Syrian war has so far resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 people, the internal displacement of 4 million, and the displacement abroad of 1.5 million.
The full text of Rev. Eibner’s testimony can be found here.
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