The long road to healing in Syria 

In Syria, the need for support following the trauma of 22 June 2025, when a terrorist attacked Mar Elias Church, is profound. Open Doors local partners have been able to provide essential counselling for our brothers and sisters impacted by that day.

Sometimes, all it takes is one day for the entire course of a life to be altered. That’s the story of five children sat on plastic chairs in a room, each with a ball of clay in front of them ready for shaping. A woman sits with them and instructs them on how to use the soft material, but she is not just a teacher. This is no nursery.  

What these children need at this moment is a deeper kind of care – trauma care. They have witnessed things most children will never have to see. 

The day that changed everything was 22 June 2025 when a suicide bomber attacked Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, taking the lives of at least 22 believers alongside his own. These five children were all there and now carry scars, visible and invisible, from that tragic day. 

One amongst them is a little girl called Sarah. Because of the attack she can no longer see out of one eye, and her father, Elias, suffers from a severe leg injury. She lost two uncles and an aunt in the bombing. 

• Elias and Hanan’s story 

The other children may not have obvious scars, but the impact of that day runs deep into their young hearts. In the next room, women dressed in black – mourning clothes – sit together, their grief as fresh as on the day their loved ones were killed. 

That’s where trauma care specialists stepped in. 

Treasured promises 

Raneen* has worked as a psychologist for years. She and local partners had begun sessions before 22 June and had no idea how much their work would be needed in Damascus in the weeks and months that followed. 

“We offer Christians different psycho-social, spiritual and counselling support to overcome the impact of trauma and other crises they have faced,” Raneen says, emphasising the need for holistic support for those impacted by the bombing. “Our work integrates Christian counselling principles with psychological techniques.”  

She continues, “We offer people a safe space where they can process and heal from psychological trauma. We pray with them and give faith-based counselling to address the deep wounds caused by trauma.”   

Biblical teaching underpins the work Raneen and her colleagues provide. “We help people connect with God’s promises of hope, strength and renewal.”  

And at the core of this teaching – Jesus. “Our primary goal is to bring emotional, mental and spiritual wholeness through the transformative power of Jesus Christ, with the belief that true healing is found in Him,” Raneen says. “This allows participants in the sessions to experience healing not only on a mental and emotional level but also in their spiritual lives. Even in the darkest moments, God can bring healing and growth.” 

The dark night of the soul 

Along with trauma, doubts can strike at a vulnerable time for believers. “I think it’s normal,” Raneen says. She shares an example of a group of women who came to the counselling sessions after the church attack. They had stopped reading the Bible and stopped going to church for a while. “When they returned to the church building, one woman shared, ‘I was looking around, asking myself, ‘When am I going to die?’” 

Raneen and her team do not shy away from such feelings but view it as part of the process. “We want to bring people back to God,” she emphasises. 

How much care is needed changes for each person’s experience. “It depends on the person; how ready he or she is to receive help. What is their experience, what are their abilities and how is the community around them?” 

Such questions are complex, reflecting the profound wounds incurred by the events of the past year in Syria. As time goes on, these wounds can only deepen with the grief and memories people carry. Children like Sarah and families affected by the bombing are in desperate need of this help – and it’s your essential gifts and prayers that mean that they can begin the journey of healing. Please continue to stand with them – it makes all the difference. 

The road is long, but by the grace of God and your support, impacted believers are steadily walking it with the Lord Jesus. Thank you. 

*Name changed for security reasons