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For the first time in centuries no services were held to mark the
festival of Easter in Christian churches of war-torn Homs as the Syria
government inflicted a heavy bombardment in defiance of UN-brokered
ceasefire talks. By Ruth Sherlock in Beirut 7:41PM BST 08 Apr 2012 Plans for a negotiated end to fighting appeared on the verge collapse
yesterday amid widespread violence and a new unilateral demand from the
government for "written guarantees" from its opponents to lay down weapons.
The three principal churches for Christian denominations in the city,
which until a few months ago was home to Syria's third largest Christian
community, were virtually abandoned. Other small churches have been
destroyed as private homes became the places of worship on Sunday with
priests and locals gathering in secret. All are located in districts have been left devastated by weeks of heavy
shelling. "There is no celebration. For one week, there have been no sounds coming
from the churches or the mosques," said Saleem, a resident speaking from
his home in Homs Old City, where most of the churches are located. "Government forces have shelled the area this morning. It is too
dangerous to go outside". Homs at Easter used to be a tapestry of colourful parades, said Dima
Moussa, a member of the Syrian National Council who recalled years of
festive visits to her family in Homs as a young woman. "You could feel Easter across the whole city. Everybody would put on
their best clothes, a the children would parade around their church
playing instruments," said Dima. "We painted boiled eggs and brought
them to Church to be blessed." "It is a family occasion. Everyone would visit their relatives, bringing
with them colourful eggs and chocolate for the children. My grandparents
would put on huge meals, often a whole sheep, for the whole family". Two weeks ago Moussa's relatives fled from Homs as government forces
began shelling the Christian neighbourhoods of Hamidiyah and Boustan
al-Diwan where they lived. Videos of the area show streets riddled with
debris, and concrete buildings shattered by shells and bullet holes. "The windows of my grandfather's home were shattered by shelling," said
Moussa. "The regime doesn't care anymore, they are targeting all
neighbourhoods, and mosques and churches." "It is too dangerous to go to Church, as the regime is even shelling
these," said Saif al Arab, an activist in Homs who claimed to be in
contact with Christians in his neighbourhood. "There is not enough food
for them to celebrate in the traditional way. This is not a celebration,
they gathered to pray for the people who have been killed in the
bombardments".
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