"Much of the village was in ruins and he told me he feared the sectarian violence that has continued to plague Syria even after the end of the civil war would soon hit his Christian community, again."
"Ibrahim said he had planted many of these trees himself, as a teenager, decades ago. There is still so much rebuilding to be done and so many past hurts to heal."
"Some tiny bit of that healing began, I think, in those moments with the warm sun on us, gathering handfuls of hard olives that would grace his family's table in the future."
In a Christian village in northern Syria, Abdallah Ibrahim expressed fears of renewed sectarian violence despite the civil war's end. He harvested olives from trees he planted as a teenager, marking a significant moment of connection to his past. This act of gathering olives, after years of conflict, represents a small step towards healing and rebuilding the community. The warm sun and the olives symbolize a taste of home that has been absent for nearly 14 years, highlighting the resilience of the villagers amidst ongoing challenges.
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