Russian delegation visits Maaloula city

Damascus, (ST) –A Russian delegation visited on Monday  the city of Maaloula in Damascus countryside and distributed food, health aid, school bags and  gifts to a group of children in the area at St. Elias Church and Al-Baraka Center for Youth Activities.

Director of  Labour and Social Affairs in Damascus countryside Husam Sawan declared that this initiative affirms the deep-rooted relationship between the Russian and Syrian peoples and the continuation of Russia’s support to Syria in its war on terrorism and facing the difficult circumstances being imposed on it.

Alexei Bokovny, Director of Rosa Tronecht Company, stressed the depth of friendship between the Syrian and Russian peoples and the need to work for the return of Syrian refugees to their cities and villages, and this is discussed by the joint meeting to follow up on the conference on the return of Syrian refugees

For his part, Senator Sergei Muradov clarified that the purpose of the visit was to share joy with the children of the region after the difficult conditions they suffered during the years of war against their country.

From St. Elias Church, Father Elias Al-Shayeb praised the initiative of the Russian side, “which drew a smile on the children’s faces,” saying that the aid that was distributed met the needs of the people of the region.

Engineer Elias Hilal, supervisor of the Al-Baraka Center for Youth Activities, considered that the initiative had a positive impact in contributing to supporting the center’s work in providing its activities for children and youth.

 Hilal added that, the center was damaged by terrorism and was recently rehabilitated.

Maaloula is a town in Damascus Countryside province. It is located 56 km to the northeast of Damascus and built into the rugged mountainside at an altitude of more than 1500 m.

This beautiful peaceful town was the target of Al-Qaeda -linked Jabhat Al-Nusra in 2013. The terrorists attacked the town, harassed and displaced the locals.

On December 3, 2013, the terrorists kidnapped a number of Greek Orthodox nuns along with three of their assistants from St. Tekla monastery. The kidnapping ended on March, 2014, when the nuns and the three assistants were freed in a Lebanese border area.

It is to be noted that the terrorists attacked many historical and archaeological sites (Christian and Moslem) in an attempt to erase the history of civilizations-to break the mosaic of which Syria is made from -up till today the whereabouts of two priests from Aleppo remain unknown despite numerous efforts to end their hardship.

In April 2014, the Syrian Arab army drove the terrorists out of Maaloula and restored security and stability to the town.

Raghda Sawas