marist news 921
January 14, 2026
A special letter from Aleppo

I am writing this letter from the hell of war that has been ravaging Aleppo for four days. There are two districts in our city that are under Kurdish control: ACHRAFIEH and CHEIKH MAKSOUD. Hundreds of thousands of people of all ethnicities and religions live in these two districts. The Christians of Aleppo call CHEIKH MAKSOUD “JABAL EL SAYDEH” (the hill of the Mother of God). A very poor Christian community lives in this district. And the BLUE MARISTS come from this district.

These two neighborhoods suffered enormously during the war. On Good Friday 2013, the entire Christian community of JABAL EL SAYDEH was forced to flee. On this occasion, we set up a crisis unit and took in about thirty families in our Marist community, who spent six months in our facilities. Later, we helped all these families to rent apartments far away from their original place of residence. With the establishment of a fragile peace, the families gradually returned to JABAL EL SAYDEH, even though the neighborhood remained under Kurdish control. We knew very well that this was not the best solution.

Since December 2024, the situation between Kurdish forces and the government army has deteriorated. Periods of calm have been followed by tensions. On March 10, 2025, an agreement was signed in Damascus between the Syrian government and the Kurdish authorities. Apart from the situation in the two districts of Aleppo, this agreement established a process for normalizing relations between the two parties in the northeastern region of Syria, which is also held by Kurdish forces. This agreement provided for a plan to be implemented by December 31, 2025. Unfortunately, it was not carried out.

Fighting continued in Aleppo for weeks, but was ended by ceasefires. However, since Monday, January 5, 2026, and up to the time of writing this letter, the fighting has intensified and, above all, led to a massive displacement of the population from the two districts. Terrible scenes can be observed, with people wandering around without knowing where to go: children, young people, women, and men are leaving the neighborhoods in a continuous stream. The bombing continues unabated, day and night. The neighborhoods adjacent to the combat zones are severely affected.

Schools and universities, in the middle of semester exams, are closed indefinitely. Life is paralyzed. A real curfew envelops the city in silence and fear. A dark night penetrates the hearts of the inhabitants. It is terrible, as if 14 years of war, sanctions, and earthquakes were not enough. As if this city were cursed. As if the streets of Aleppo were thirsting for blood. As if the horror were multiplying endlessly. Why must Aleppo and its inhabitants endure such a fate? Until when? When will the horizon of peace become a reality? We no longer have the strength to resist or persevere. We are afraid and ask ourselves: Until when?

I share with you these words from a young Marist doctor who expresses his feelings from the university hospital where he works as a resident: “In the heart of Aleppo University Hospital… frightened faces… Concerned staff wondering if the way home is safe… Exhausted patients, without medicine and without money… An exodus and uprooting mark the path of arrival, an icy cold clutches the last beats of a weary heart… And we continue to say: There is hope…”

I am writing these words to denounce wars, their perpetrators, and their instigators. I need you to denounce them: Enough is enough, Kafa… Our nerves can’t take it anymore. We are traumatized and desperate. Let us pray, let us call upon God… Give us YOUR PEACE.

Thursday, January 8, 2026
F. Georges Sabé, Marist Brother