Aid, not refuge, is needed for Syrians, patriarch says

A church leader in Syria said on Tuesday that Western governments should not be encouraging those suffering in the region to leave, as Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, announced that the UK would take in a small number of Syrian refugees, writes James Macintyre. Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch told the British Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that instead, the West should be providing more aid. “It is better to help the [destitute] people within … the region and not invite them to go outside,” he said.

The Damascus-based Melkite Greek patriarch recognised that Syrians must make their own decisions because “the suffering is so great”, but he added that “the real answer is to provide more help – more relief – on the spot”. The patriarch echoed concerns among other Middle Eastern church leaders over Christians fleeing the region. “The danger is that if [Christians] leave the region of the Middle East, they will never go back. This applies to other groups as well as the Christians,” he said.