The Refugee Camp 004 for Syrian refugees in the village of Kfardlakos, Zgharta district, northern Lebanon, is one of fifty camps scattered throughout the country. 125 people, 25 families, and over 60 minors continue to struggle in difficult living conditions eleven years after their escape from Syria, where life is even more difficult. Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, wished visit this place during his ongoing mission to Lebanon.
“We have come to know you and listen to you, and we share your hope of returning home, to Syria,” Cardinal Czerny states. “The Pope is happy that I am here among you. We weep for your suffering. The Pope weeps with you, he loves you.” On the return journey to Harissa, he comments on the visit: “I am speechless after seeing a life lived at the extreme. The conditions are impossible, people fight to survive, they want to return home but they know that in Syria it is difficult. In fact, there is no home there anymore.”