Walk through the beacon fire

(This article was published in Hong Kong's "Sky Post" in October 2017 with appropriate revisions.)

A six-year-long Syrian civil war has left half a million people devastated, and more than 5 million Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring Middle Eastern countries or risked their lives across the Mediterranean to Turkey or other European countries. About 6 million people remain in the country and have been displaced for many years. This pain makes these refugees live in fear and depression.

In August 2017, a nurse friend and I were invited to Lebanon as a volunteer medical team to serve in a local cultural and educational center run by a Christian group. Six "Art Therapy Workshops". I conducted the first "mental health survey" at the center, and found that 82% of the adolescent trainees had traumatic stress reactions, and nearly half of the adolescents and 40% of the children had moderate to severe depressive symptoms respectively.

Most of the pictures drawn by children and teenagers depict the cruelty and horror of war, such as constant air raids, destruction of homes, corpses scattered everywhere, families separated, and life and death uncertain. The younger generation in Syria has endured years of fear, anger and pain. Through the first round of workshops, the trainees shared the trauma that had been hidden in their hearts for many years in front of many peers, and cried together. Hope, they have imprinted the "Tree of Righteousness" ("Bible" [Isaiah] 61:3) with their painted palms on paper, hoping that one day they can thrive in their hometown!