In the past few weeks, Stefano Comazzi (AMU President) and Giampietro Parolin (member of the AMU Board of Directors) undertook a trip to Syria to meet local staff and the protagonists of the projects supported by AMU itself ( RestarT and Semi di Speranza), together with the local partner Seeds of Hope .
What we offer you is a short story of their journey, told directly by them.
First stop: the Valley of the Christians
Al Meshtaye, in the Valley of the Christians, marked the first stop on our trip to Syria. Here, for three days, the Council of
Seeds of Hope administration along with over thirty project managers.
The seminar’s goal is to strengthen the impact of projects , from microcredit to productive activities and vocational training; from women’s empowerment to citizenship education; to healthcare support and assistance for the most vulnerable families.
In the city of Homs, wounded but alive
The journey then continued to Homs, a wounded but vibrant city. In the main square, where Assad’s statue once stood, a monument of books now stands, and the square itself has been renamed “University Square”: outward signs of change.
Amidst the rubble, artisanal and commercial businesses supported by AMU are multiplying: a telephone shop offering various services, a young violin maker, and small workshops that are being revived thanks to microcredit. 
The meeting with the Seeds of Hope staff in Homs was a powerful moment of exchange. Despite the wounds still open, these people represent a concrete sign of hope.
Also important were the meetings with local bishops : the Greek Orthodox Gregorios Khoury , who emphasized the need to rediscover the roots of the meaning of the Church and the Christian formation of the faithful, even in an unstable political context; and the Syriac Catholic Jacques Murad , co-founder with Father Paolo Dall’Oglio of the Mar Musa community, who expressed joy for the ongoing projects and raised the prospect of broader initiatives capable of reviving the economy.
In Aleppo, at the Seeds of Hope central office
In Aleppo, the headquarters of Seeds of Hope , we visited some of the activities supported by RestarT: artisanal tailoring and mosaic workshops run by women, an auto parts shop, and small businesses that practice forms of reciprocity capable of generating virtuous processes.
We then presided over the graduation ceremony for young men and women of different religions, protagonists of an active citizenship course , supported by the R.I.S.E. program.
The testimonies heard – from the recovery of a bakery to awareness-raising initiatives – show the seeds of a new ruling class , aware of working for the common good of all Syrians.
Damascus, last stop
The trip concluded in Damascus with a meeting convened by the Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, Cardinal Mario Zenari , attended by several international NGOs. The meeting confirmed the desire to strengthen mutual collaboration to jointly address the country’s challenges.
Upon returning to the border, the Syrian official, after a conversation mediated by cell phone, smiled as he read that the guests had been in Syria “to help the people since 2012 and to continue to do so.” A gesture of welcome that symbolically concluded a journey marked by difficulties and signs of rebirth.