Aleppo is free but a real peace is still far away
“Soldiers cannot make peace, perhaps they might just win a war. We need Politics to pursue peace, but right now Politics is missing and we don’t even know what is going to happen next”. With these words the newly elected Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarcate in Jerusalem, Mons. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, recently described the ongoing situation in Aleppo.
While Aleppo is being freed by the Loyalist army, the news we get from the town are confused. The situation remains uncertain and a lot of people still live in horrible conditions.
The Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land have sent us a picture showing a mortal blow stuck on the street: it means that the fighting is not over yet. “It’s a matter of time” they write to us, “but there’s still much fear among us”, because the situation is not clear at all. Just like that mortar blow stuck in the street, the war has left and still leaves deep scars in Aleppo.
Aleppo needs help now, immediately, “the battle is still on” since “the last ones do not want to give up”. It is necessary to support people who want to remain.
But, above all, Aleppo will need help soon, for reconstruction.