A home to start over again

It was 2008. At the time neither Riad nor Sara would have believed what would have happened soon after that. But it happened. It happened that Idlib was invaded by the jihadists of Al-Nusra. It happened that Riad’s father was kidnapped by the rebels and then released after they paid a heavy ransom. And it happened that Riad and Sara had to flee from Idlib because they were Christians. They moved to Aleppo and wanted to get married, but it was not yet time. In fact Riad was called for military service in Damascus. He didn’t want to fight, nobody would like to, but he was forced. The experience did not last long, however, because fate wanted him and Sara to be together: he was hit and seriously injured by a mortar. With his body full of scars and his heart full of suffering because of the ongoing tragedy, Riad then returned to Sara with the hope to get married soon. But he needed to find a house and neither he nor his girlfriend had a chance to buy one. And then, in that Aleppo torn by mortars, it was difficult to find a standig one. Meanwhile, something unexpected happened. George’s house was half destroyed. George was a member of the Latin community in Aleppo who couldn’t stand it any more, he couldn’t stand to always be on the “who goes there”. Every morning he woke up with the sound of bombs and everyday he watched them fall like rain hoping he would never be hit. When his house was hit one day he decided to leave since he had found a way to go abroad. He went to Fr. Ibrahim and told him: “My house is half destroyed, but it can be repaired. I do not need it beacuse I’m living, I will give it to you until I return. You can repair it and do what you want, give it to whoever you want. If I come back I will ask it back, otherwise you can keep it “. The house was restored and today Riad and Sara live in it. They have been married for inly a month and have also welcomed her younger sister who is attending university. When we meet them they can’t stop smiling: “Despite everything – Riad says – we have to be gratful because we received many gifts. If after all this we are still together, it means that it is our destiny. We are really lucky and we look forward to working hard to rebuild this city “.