(ANS - Aleppo) – Since 26 June there has been no running water in Aleppo. This is a problem that adds to the daily torment of continuous bombardment and shooting.  "The water emergency becomes unbearable due to the stifling heat of these days. Churches distribute drinking water from their wells, but the demand is very high and they are unable to meet it" according to Dadoud Samaan, a former tour guide. He now works in humanitarian programmes in Syria, as a collaborator of the Salesians in the city.

Temperatures are reaching 50° C and everywhere in the city women and children are going around with bottles and plastic cans, looking for water.

In fact there are water sources in Aleppo but “armed groups control the water pumps and turn off the taps to put pressure on the city”, Dadoud told Fides. “We do not know what conditions they are attempting to impose on the government in Damascus, but they are using the water supply as an instrument of blackmail. Civilians have nothing to do with it but they are paying the highest price.”

Since the city is on the border with Turkey, "the rebels have no problems in receiving logistical support, weapons and all kinds of help from that direction. At local level, they can only find temporary solutions and the situation is precarious."

In Aleppo, hope is kept alive by the Christian churches that have not yet been destroyed by extremists, like the Salesian oratory where the summer activities for young people are still going on. "We try to keep alive in the young people the memory of Aleppo as it was before: a lively cheerful city with many meetings. If you go to these churches, you will still find a ray of hope. They are like the lighthouses that used to shine out on stormy nights, rekindling hope for sailors who were lost in a dark and hostile sea," concludes Dadoud.

Published 23/07/2015