Miriam and Two Girls Stuck in Syria; Husband Shot and Killed
President of the Australian Christian Syrian Association Christine Hanna said it was all well and good for Australia to increase its Syrian refugee intake, but many people, especially the Christians, were finding it extremely hard to flee to another country.
"They need a way out basically, so risking your life to get out is one thing. We need a safe way to get out," she said.
"Many of the surrounding countries have closed their borders.
"As a community we are telling our families back home to get out, but when they get out, they cannot register with the United Nations due to the overwhelming numbers.
"There's no support and there's no guarantee they can get a refugee visa and get to Australia."
One such group are the Australian-Syrian Orthodox families in western Sydney.
The Tantak family fled Aleppo in Syria two years ago due to the persecution of Christians by groups such as Islamic State (IS).
Daughter Rosine Tantak, 22, said the family fled to Jordan initially and then Australia less than a year ago.
"One day we were sitting at home with my grandmother as well. It was my brother's birthday. A group of terrorists attacked our home," she said.
"They started to shoot all the Christian photos and threaten us."
Her brother, Boulos Tantak, now 21, said the men told them they had to leave the country.
"You are Christian, you have to leave Syria because it is an Islamic state. You can't be in Syria anymore," he recalled them saying.
Rosine said the women in the family had to wear hijabs, or the Islamic head scarf to get through the checkpoints on the bus to Jordan.
Aunt Naima Assaf, an Australian citizen of 25 years, said she managed to sponsor the family out to Australia.
She said now the family was worried about her sister-in-law and two nieces who managed to flee to neighbouring Turkey, but were stuck in a town in the south-east called Mardin.
"My younger brother was shot by terrorists in Aleppo when he went out to get bread, leaving my sister-in-law as a widow," Ms Assaf said...
"They need a way out basically, so risking your life to get out is one thing. We need a safe way to get out," she said.
"Many of the surrounding countries have closed their borders.
"As a community we are telling our families back home to get out, but when they get out, they cannot register with the United Nations due to the overwhelming numbers.
"There's no support and there's no guarantee they can get a refugee visa and get to Australia."
One such group are the Australian-Syrian Orthodox families in western Sydney.
The Tantak family fled Aleppo in Syria two years ago due to the persecution of Christians by groups such as Islamic State (IS).
Daughter Rosine Tantak, 22, said the family fled to Jordan initially and then Australia less than a year ago.
"One day we were sitting at home with my grandmother as well. It was my brother's birthday. A group of terrorists attacked our home," she said.
"They started to shoot all the Christian photos and threaten us."
Her brother, Boulos Tantak, now 21, said the men told them they had to leave the country.
"You are Christian, you have to leave Syria because it is an Islamic state. You can't be in Syria anymore," he recalled them saying.
Rosine said the women in the family had to wear hijabs, or the Islamic head scarf to get through the checkpoints on the bus to Jordan.
Aunt Naima Assaf, an Australian citizen of 25 years, said she managed to sponsor the family out to Australia.
She said now the family was worried about her sister-in-law and two nieces who managed to flee to neighbouring Turkey, but were stuck in a town in the south-east called Mardin.
"My younger brother was shot by terrorists in Aleppo when he went out to get bread, leaving my sister-in-law as a widow," Ms Assaf said...
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