The Maronite church in Damascus. (Credit: L'Orient-Le Jour)
OLJ: Four days after the fall of the regime, how do you see the situation, especially that of Christians in Syria with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham coming to power?
SN: We have been educated for 50 years in fear of Islam, so it takes time to reassure, to educate people to a new positive cohabitation. We did not have the means and the freedom to say it before. We had to say the official version which was that Muslims want to kill Christians, that they are terrorists, which is of course not true. While Muslims are the first victims of this war. It was the 12 million refugees, the 10 million civilians who paid the price. Those who lost their homes, their jobs, who died in greater numbers. We Christians have never been embarrassed. But we were not courageous enough to tell the truth.
OLJ: To what extent did the pressure of the authorities weigh on the clergymen?
SN: We couldn't say anything. I was already in Syria when it started. At first in small doses, then the violence increased. Religion has been used a bit like the pretext. The regime justified its repression on the grounds that it was preventing “Daesh” from returning. But what is Daesh? It's an idea. It is certain that Islam must not be allowed to develop into extremism. But it also goes without saying for Christians: let us remember the Crusades for example.
OLJ: How did you react during the first peaceful protests against the regime in 2011?
SN: People in the Christian community were afraid. Even I shared my ideas in a low voice when I was out of Syria. We were monitored 24 hours a day. The intelligence services, the mukhabarats were everywhere. It went through the cook, the doorman, the sacristan... In 2012, I wrote a letter in French, when the violence increased rapidly, and I sent it to my friends abroad. It was translated into Arabic and published in an-Nahar. It put me in a good position. I was stopped at the Lebanese border on the way back from my trip. They took away my military pass. They had three choices: eliminate me physically; forbid me from coming back to Syria; or let me pass. They were annoyed because they did not want to get in trouble with the Vatican or with Patriarch Rai. I managed to stay, but I was obviously not welcome.
OLJ: Were you able to intervene in the arrest of Christian opponents of the regime?
SN: During trivial arrests, we could do it, but those who were arrested for political reasons, we were not allowed to do it. They are immediately forgotten. When a minority rules, it fears others. This required it to create systems to protect itself: there were fourteen intelligence services and daily reports. A son was watching his mother, the mother was watching the father, who was watching his uncle. Everyone was watching everyone, and a lot of priests were also involved in this system. One day we even found a microphone in a pen in my drawer: it had been removed at the time, but it had certainly been replaced elsewhere...
OLJ: Are you relieved that the wall of fear has finally fallen?
SN: Relieved? It is too late now. The country is demolished. Millions of young people have fled military service. We hope that all Syrians, from all communities, will return to the country. We must not think as a community, but as citizens.
