L’Œuvre d’Orient, represented by its Executive Director Hugues de Woillemont, was invited by the President of the French Republic to attend historic meetings.
Since the start of the civil war, and despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries, L’Œuvre d’Orient has never ceased to support the Syrian people.
The organization has continued to support projects carried out by Christian communities to serve the entire Syrian population, regardless of ethnic or religious background. As a result, 34 million euros have been distributed since 2017 to support 1,125 projects on the ground in Syria.
During this visit, Œuvre d’Orient was able to discuss the issue of security with the authorities: what security guarantees should be provided to all the ethnic and religious groups in Syria so that they can continue to live on their land.
During the closed-door meeting at the airport between the President of the French Republic, local church officials, and the Director General of L’Œuvre d’Orient, issues related to education were discussed.
L’Œuvre d’Orient has asked the Syrian authorities to return to Christian communities the Christian schools that were confiscated in the 1960s. These schools would enable Christian and Muslim students to learn to study together again and to build a shared future, particularly through the use of the French language taught in these institutions.
Convinced that supporting Syria’s Christians means supporting Syria as a whole, Bishop Hugues de Woillemont called for Christians in the East to regain their rightful place in Syrian society and be able to contribute fully to its future.
