Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

43 WITNESSING MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION Martin Temres Martin Temres is the former aid team coordinator for the Syria Trust for Development. He attended the Private United School, then obtained a preparatory certificate from Buhturi School and worked as a carpenter while continuing education at both private and public schools. With the aim of combining local development and humanitarian work to find a language for interreligious dialogue, Martin worked with the Red Crescent in projects to achieve self-sufficiency for the poorest and neediest areas and to distribute food essentials. He worked for the Syria Trust for Development from 2011 to the beginning of 2015 when he was taken pris- oner by Da’esh. He has been married to Caroline Hazcour since 1991 and has three children. be corrupted, came to me one day asking me to write a letter to my wife to send a number of Holy Bibles as well as the Practical Interpretation Book. At this point I truly felt the power of the Word and of dialogue and that God can do all things. However, despite all these sessions, mercy did not reign in the hearts of the members of ISIS, and on 23 September 2015 they imprisoned us in individual cells that smelled of nothing but death. When they asked us to wear the orange suits, we realised that our fate was death because we were accused of being Christians and infidels. At 8:00am on Eid Al-Adha, we were taken to the desert and three of us were executed before our eyes, because they wanted to put pressure on the Church to give in to their demands. This was the most diffi- cult time we had gone through, but the only thing that consoled me was the fact that these three victims, after their martyrdom, had become a ransom for us and a bridge to our freedom. We must remember them forever as martyrs for Christ and they are: Martyr Ashour Beidour Araham Martyr Bessam Mishal Issa Martyr Dr. Abdul Maseeh Azriya Anouya. In conclusion, the main thing I want to say is that, after my release, I was filled with a desire for revenge and to take up arms and fight these people. But I returned to my core beliefs and kept myself from becoming the person I wanted to become because doing so would have made me equal to those that kidnapped me; there would have been no difference between us. I now realise that they are people who have lost their way and are truly in need of our prayers for divine mercy to return to them, their thoughts, and their actions. I am resolved to do all I can and take every opportunity to build bridges of communication and dialogue between all the customs and religions that surround us until we find in this dia- logue a common language that all peoples and nations can share. After all, human beings are the model and image of God on Earth. In your view towards the Other, it is wise to always bear in mind that he is your brother in humanity and to accept him despite differences in faith and doctrine. We must know that we are all blessed with gifts from God and that we must use these gifts so that we can truly live in His model and His image.