Medical practitioner Dr. Adrian Lorde is encouraging citizens to practise moderation heading into the festivities of Christmas. He’s reminding those with non communicable diseases, to take their medication on time and as prescribed.
(CNN) — Protests erupted in Christian neighbourhood of the Syrian capital Damascus after a Christmas tree was set on fire in another town by unidentified men on Monday evening. A video showing men setting fire to a publicly displayed Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near the city of Hama, emerged online, prompting the protests. It’s unclear who set the tree on fire but a video surfaced of a rebel standing next to Christian priests vowing to punish the perpetrators. “Next morning you will see the tree completely restored,” the unidentified rebel told a protesting group next to the burnt Christmas tree. The incident came three weeks since opposition rebels led a successful campaign to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s Christians now join those in Lebanon and Palestinian territories celebrating Christmas amid great uncertainty and fear in the region. The protesters in the capital marched towards churches to demand better protection for Christians in the country, George, a 24-year-old Catholic resident of Damascus, who chose to give only his first name to speak freely, told CNN. When Islamist rebels swept through Syria’s second-largest city in an operation that would eventually culminate in the ouster of the brutal Assad regime, Christians were given assurances that their churches and property would remain protected. Under Assad, Christians were allowed to celebrate their holidays and practice their rituals but like all Syrians faced tyrannical limitations on freedom of speech and political activity. In control of most of Syria now is the Islamist armed rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed Al Jolani – a man who had established al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria before rebranding his group in 2016. Al-Sharaa has maintained that his group will protect minorities and religious sects of Syria but has yet to call specifically for the protection for Christians ahead of the Christmas celebrations. The HTS-led government said that Wednesday (December 25) and Thursday (December 26) will be a public holiday. Residents of the Syrian capital Damascus tell CNN that HTS has not imposed any limitations on celebrations or prayers this year, but Christians still fear that non-HTS rogue armed elements could attack them. “Hayat Tahrir Al Sham have not announced anything on stopping our celebrations… but there are Christians who don’t want to go out to celebrate because they fear that they might get attacked from rogue armed individuals,” George said. Christmas trees and other festive decorations are up across Christian neighbourhoods of Damascus, George said, but people are scaling back their celebrations and imposing their own restrictions amid an absence of communication from HTS. “It will make a big difference if there are announcements on better security for Christmas. Until now there isn’t proper security that is 100% organised,” George added. Hilda Haskour, a 50-year-old Aleppo resident who identifies as Syriac Catholic, is preparing to celebrate Christmas but says there’s still worry among Christians. “We just want to live in peace and safety, we are not asking for much…there is fear, people are tired,” Haskour said. ‘We will rebuild again’ A woman and child light candles at the Greek Basilica in the Nativity Church Complex in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, on Sunday, December 22. (Photo: HAZEM BADER/AFP/AFP via Getty Images via CNN Newsource) For the second year running, a Christmas tree will not be hoisted in the city revered as the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem. Since the Gaza war started last year in the wake of Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, the Israeli-occupied city of Bethlehem has been subjected to “severe isolation” due to imposed restrictions, the suspension of tourism, the closure of its gates to pilgrims, and a frozen economy, the Mayor of Bethlehem Anton Salman said at a news conference on Saturday. At least $600 million has been lost in revenue and unemployment rates have soared to over 36%, with poverty levels rising as nearly 30% of Bethlehem’s residents lack a source of income due to the absence of tourists. “This year’s Christmas celebrations will be limited to prayers and religious rituals in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and across Palestine and as a rejection of the oppression and injustice they endure,” a statement citing Salman said. Over the past year in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed at least 45,000 people and destroyed much of the strip, churches have been targeted several times by Israeli forces. Days before Christmas last year, an Israeli military sniper shot and killed two women inside the Holy Family Parish, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. This Christmas, the Catholic Bishop of Jerusalem, known as a Patriarch, was allowed to enter Gaza to pray with the small Christian population of the strip at the Holy Family Parish, which has served over the past year as a shelter for the small religious minority. “The war will end, and we will rebuild again, but we must guard our hearts to be capable of rebuilding. We love you, so never fear and never give up,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told worshipers during Sunday Mass. Lebanon celebrates People attend a Christmas tree lighting in the Druze-majority area of Jaramana, in the Damascus countryside, on December 22. (Photo: Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource) Meanwhile, in Lebanon, decorations are up in Christian parts of Beirut, where communities are keen to celebrate just weeks after a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was declared. Flights were fully booked as people returned to mark Christmas with families and festive markets opened in different neighbourhoods. “My brother is flying back from New York just to specifically celebrate with our mother,” Tony Batte, an Armenian Catholic resident of Beirut, said. In September, Israel expanded its targeting of Hezbollah to areas inside Lebanon, including the capital Beirut. Around 4,000 people were killed and thousands more injured in Lebanon while Hezbollah continued firing rockets and drones on Israeli cities in the north displacing thousands. Hezbollah entered the war last year in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and Hamas but has since suffered significant losses, including the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and his top brass, and the debilitating of the militant group’s missile capabilities. The fall of its key ally Assad, and the rebels’ capture of key supply routes used by Hezbollah in Syria could also affect the capabilities of the Iranian-backed group. “We want stability, we’re tired. We were occupied by the Syrians for years and then had Iranian influence, and we’re tired of the Christian infighting, the Islamic infighting, the Hezbollah-Israel war, every Lebanese person is tired, not just Christians,” Batte said.
UNITED NATIONS, CMC – A new United Nations report says a little over two weeks after a surge of violence in the Cité Soleil commune of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince more than 207 people were executed by the Wharf Jérémie Gang. The report by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) covers the period between December 6 and 11, during which 134 men and 73 women were killed. The UN said on Monday that most of the victims were elderly people accused of practising voodoo and causing the gang leader’s child’s illness. Other victims included those who tried to flee the area for fear of reprisals or were suspected of leaking information about the crimes to local media, the UN said. “Tracked down at their homes and in a place of worship, the victims were taken to the gang’s stronghold where they were held captive and interrogated inside a so-called ‘training centre’, the UN said. “They were then taken to a nearby execution site before being shot or killed with machetes,” it added. “The gang attempted to erase all evidence by burning the bodies or dismembering them and then throwing them into the sea.” María Isabel Salvador, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti and head of BINUH said: “We cannot act as if nothing happened. I call on the Haitian justice system to conduct a thorough investigation into these horrific crimes and to arrest and punish their perpetrators, as well as those who support them. “I also call on the authorities to quickly establish a specialised judicial unit to handle this type of crime,” she added. Since 2022, the UN said the Wharf Jérémie gang has been fighting rival gangs for control of the roads leading to the capital’s main port and its container terminal. This year alone, the UN said BINUH and OHCHR have recorded more than 5,350 people killed and more than 2,155 others injured as a direct result of these acts of violence. Additionally, the UN said the gang leader is said to impose “taxes” on the consortium managing the port, particularly for the release of containers, as well as on trucking companies transporting goods from the port. “He has also positioned himself as a key intermediary for national and international actors seeking to access the local populations living in Wharf Jérémie,” the UN said. “The documented crimes in Wharf Jérémie occur in an alarming context of violence and human rights violations and abuses in Haiti, involving both criminal gangs, self-defense groups, and un-organised members of the population,” it added. Credible sources also indicate the involvement of specialised units of the Haitian National Police (PNH), according to the report. (Photo: IOM/Antoine Lemonnie)
