‘If we weigh this blood and the tears, on which side will the scales fall?The year 2013 ended very painfully for Syria with destruction, suffering and death. The figures are striking: about 1.5 million houses have been totally or partially destroyed, more than half of hospitals also. Schools, villages and city quarters are in ruins. A total of 2.2m refugees have fled to neighbouring countries. Within Syria, more than 5m people have been internally displaced. Around 120,000 people have lost their lives, among them more than 11,000 children – some killed in a very brutal manner. This is a huge wave, or rather a tsunami, of human suffering. An Italian journalist, kidnapped and set free a few months ago, likened Syria to what happened to Job after God delivered him over to Satan: