A Jesuit priest trapped in the Syrian city of Homs is warning mental health problems might lead to a breakdown of social order.
With the failure of United Nations-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Fr Frans Van der Lugt, told ‘The Telegraph’ that food has run out and starvation is beginning to cause people to lose their minds.
Speaking via Skype he described Homs as “a lawless jungle”.
The 75 year old Dutch priest told of how residents, cut off for more than an year are developing mental health problems, leading to a breakdown of social order.
“We are trying our best to behave in a fraternal way so we don’t turn on each other for the hunger”, he said.
The priest took to using social media, posting a video on YouTube after the United Nations failed in its effort to get support for humanitarian aid.
For more than a year no food has been allowed in and no one is allowed out, he said.
Fr Van der Lugt, who has lived in Syria since 1966, told ‘The Telegraph’ the Old City used to be home to 60,000 Christians, with 10 churches in the besieged areas. “Now I find myself alone with only 66 other Christians,” he said, adding that they have a close relationship with the Muslim residents who are also trapped in the siege.
“We are afraid that the international community has abandoned us. They look for their interests, this is politics, but they have to know that the Syrian people are suffering,” he said.
Sources:
- The Telegraph
- Image: National Post
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