How Alaa Ashour is rebuilding his life
The charity kitchen makes about 150 warm lunches every day and Alaa is one of the volunteers who deliver to those in need in the surrounding community. The bags with the warm lunches are packed in two big white boxes and then strapped onto the back of his motorcycle. Alaa is one of the many church members who bring food to the mainly elderly people. Ensuring they have at least two healthy meals a week.
However, for a time the 37-year-old carpenter and his family also relied on this food themselves, as they arrived as displaced people in the village after they had to flee from their home. He has since recovered and rebuilt his life, his own business – a sawmill that provides an income for him and two of his brothers. Even now with his own company, he continues to deliver to the needy around him, because he remembers what it was like relying on those meals.
“I was born and raised in Homs, but because of the war we were displaced in 2011 to the Christian Valley, which is an area between Homs and Tartous in Syria with a relatively high percentage of Christians living there.” Like millions of other Syrians, he was displaced with most of his family from the city they were living in. In Al Hwash he was married and now has a baby son.
“The situation in Homs got very bad; unbearable,” he says, explaining why he fled. “Rebels entered our neighbourhood. We were unable to stay; we had to look for a safe place, that’s why we came here. We literally ran away with only our clothes; we couldn’t bring anything. We walked to another part of the city, and from there we were taken out by a car.”
While trying to explain what he felt that day he said, “It’s an indescribable feeling, to be displaced, to lose your house, everything you have. Homs was a great city; it was wonderful there, safe. Even at night when one would go out, it felt safe. It was great for those with a business. My work was going well, and my financial situation was good.” Alaa worked as a carpenter in Homs and, with his brothers, he had a workshop. “We had a good income.”
In Homs, he had his sawmill together with his three brothers. “It’s all gone now. There is nothing left, the houses and stores are burned. My neighbour told me that the roof of the house is destroyed. It is inhabitable.”
He had to completely rebuild his life again, and with the responsibility of providing for his family, he was left with an extreme weight on his shoulders. At first, he and his family lived for six months with his grandmother. Working mainly in construction, he began to make some money, however, it wasn’t enough to maintain themselves. They relied on the charity kitchen for good food and on the support of the church.
The family soon received another blow. Ten years ago, one of Alaa’s brothers disappeared. “He was a taxi driver. In our last contact on the phone, he told me that he was in Homs. He was going to get his things and wanted to come to the valley too. He asked me what we needed from there. When we later tried to call, there was no signal from his side. We looked for him, we went to the police. There was nothing, and no one contacted us regarding his case, nothing.” They never heard any more from his brother or about what happened to him. The family is convinced he was kidnapped.
Alaa continues, “He has three children, the oldest is in her first year of college, another in the 10th grade and the youngest is in the seventh grade. When he was kidnapped, he was 37. His disappearance caused trauma to the whole family. It planted fear in us all.”
While the situation with his brother has been unresolved, things have changed since Alaa received the support he needed to start the sawmill business in Al Hwash. “Of course, the sawmill makes more income. Each one of us works with his own talent here. When someone works with his own hands and has all the tools, it makes a significant difference in the monthly income.”
Going back to Homs is no option for him. His house is destroyed and there isn’t enough money to fix it or to go back to it at all. Even if they could make it back after what his family has been through and seen in Homs, they don’t want to go back. It was home for them but it no longer is.
The sawmill has brought a big change and brought joy to him and his brothers as he works together with them. “It was pure joy when I opened the doors and saw all the machines. My biggest joy was when the machines were delivered and when they put them in the store. It was a joyful moment to return to my field of work and work in my own store. It’s a beautiful feeling.”
Although he is very hopeful about the new sawmill, he has doubts about the future for his son in Syria. He hopes to send him, when he is a little older, to his grandparents who live in a Western country. “I can’t give him a future here, honestly.”
Through it all, Alaa held on to his Christian faith. “We always thank God, no matter what happens to us, we praise the Lord.” He is thankful to all who supported the church to help him to start the sawmill. “I thank you with all my heart. Because they brought joy to me who once owned something and got deprived of it. Blessings upon you.”
He ended the interview with our open doors partner by saying this: “They’re waiting for me. I need to continue distributing the food, the people are waiting.”
What will the future look like for this man? Will he succeed? Will he be able to give his son a future in Syria? God knows. Please pray for men like Alaa, who often feel humiliated because of all the losses in their life. Pray that Alaa and his brothers will be successful with their sawmill. Thank God for the church that invests in people like Alaa to build their lives again.
Below is the link to our One Million Prayers of Hope campaign. You can add your name to the map and light it up with prayer. Join the global call to prayer for our brothers and sisters in Syria and Iraq. They faced a decade of war. Now they’re facing economic collapse, persecution and discrimination.
One Million Prayer of Hope
Let us stand with them to make hope last. Use the link bellow and add your light to the map to show where you are praying from.
