Maaloula, situated in the Qalamun mountains about 60 km north of Damascus, is deemed to be the most beautiful village in Syria, containing the country’s oldest monasteries. It is also famous for its language: Aramaic. Only in Maaloula do the Christians still, to this day, speak a Western Aramaic dialect such as was spoken in its ancient form by Jesus Christ.

In September 2013 the village Maaloula was attacked by extremist Rebels.

The expulsion of the Aramaeans from Maaloula by Islamist rebels saddened us deeply. Maaloula had lived from the sparse harvest of its agriculture and from the modest spending of the tourists who visited Maaloula to hear the language of Jesus Christ. Today the refugees live with relatives or at monasteries in Damascus and have no income whatsoever.

It is our heartfelt wish to contribute to the livelihood of the Aramaeans of Maaloula as long as they still live as refugees in Damascus. We hope that one day they will be able to return and that we will have the means to help them with the reconstruction of their village. Only in this way can the Aramaic culture and language be preserved where it has existed for thousands of years.