The Saviour on a White Horse

When in Syria, we visited several families who fled from the north of the country. They now live with relatives in simple, often badly damaged homes. Electricity is only available for a few hours a day and water is scarce. Still, we were met with great openness and warm hospitality.

One of these families welcomed us in their hallway. Coffee was being made on a camping stove. Children, parents and grandparents sat together. Clothes were laid out on chairs – there was no wardrobe. Only the bare essentials were available. And yet warmth, dignity and solidarity were palpable.

The mother told us about her husband, a former soldier. In December 2024, his unit was caught up in heavy fighting. When almost everyone had been killed, he described seeing a horseman on a white horse appear before him. The horseman called out to him, telling him there was a way out. The man followed him and survived. At home, he said, ‘Jesus saved me. I want to become a Christian and be baptised.’

But his decision was not without consequences. After the regime change, troops searched entire neighbourhoods for ‘“dissenters”. He had to go into hiding and has been living in secret ever since. Only rarely does he manage to see his family for a brief moment.