Imagine that a Christian or a church in the U.S. or in Europe is eager to partner with Syrians in Syria for church ministry and to serve the poor. They get in touch with a small group of faithful believers who are actively ministering in their communities and sharing their hope in Christ. After building the personal relationship and a shared vision, the western church expresses a desire to support the local church financially. But how can the ministry send the funds to Syria, a country under U.S. and European Union sanctions? Could “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) end where U.S. and European Union sanctions begin? Is the U.S. and European Union response to the evil, the crimes of Syrian authorities, denying churches the ability to act?
Sanctions are causing daily struggles for those trying to help Syrians. Last September I met in Geneva with Nabil Antaki, a Christian medical doctor from Aleppo. Dr. Antaki shared with me that he and his colleagues sought to send to a Syrian hospital a much-needed ultrasound machine to diagnose cardiac problems. They launched a fundraising campaign to buy this machine. When his bank realized that he was collecting funds to buy medical equipment for Aleppo, it closed his account for fear of running afoul of the sanctions regime.