“Never again!”
That was the battle cry heard round the world as a betrayed Rwanda stared bewildered into a shadowy future altered forever by genocide.
“Never again,” we vowed after more than 800,000 Rwandans were butchered. “Never again,” we said to the families left to pick up the splintered pieces of their lives destroyed in a 100-day massacre that stained Rwanda with the blood of children. “Never again,” to a people group annihilated by ethnic and political hostility, we promised.
But did we mean it?
Genocide is the gravest crime that can be committed against humanity . . . and it is still a threat—a reality—for millions of people today. Yet these crimes continue to go unaddressed on a large scale because of their failure to meet the official standards of “genocide” established in Articles II and III of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
Syria is no exception. Its three-year-long civil war has claimed the lives of more than 140,000 people and has displaced over 6 million. Yet the international community is still hesitating to say “genocide.”
As the killing continues with each passing day, history echoes hollow in our ears.
Whether or not the crisis in Syria can be officially categorized as genocide, the watching world still has a choice to make.
For more than 100,000 Syrians caught in the crossfire of a political war, intervention has come too late. How many more must die before the world commits to end the taking of innocent lives?
Upholding our promise of “Never again” starts today—right now. World Help is doing all we can to care for the well-being of Syrians . . . but time is running out. We desperately need your help.
Will you join our commitment to pray for Syria and aid innocent families who have been displaced?
You can reach out today in four ways:
- Pray. The complexity of Syria’s crisis is beyond a simple solution—it is in need of divine intervention and compassionate prayer advocates . . . the most powerful forms of intercession. As the psalmist requests of God in Psalm 82:3-4, so may our prayer be for Syrians: “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
- Donate to send life-saving supplies. Our partners on the Jordan-Syria border are working furiously to distribute food, water, medicine, and essential provisions to families who have lost everything. Your gifts are timely, and may save lives.
- Send children’s illustrated storybook Bibles. These unique storybooks are written in a cultural context that Middle Eastern children can easily understand. Each Bible costs only $1 to print and distribute, and has the potential to reach up to five children . . . impacting thousands of Syrian children with eternal hope!
- Share. Read the stories for yourself, and help us spread the word. Share the needs with your online networks, and let others know how they can make an immediate difference.
May our promise of “Never again” ring true with each act of compassion on behalf of Syrians.