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For These Brazilian Aid Workers, The Road to Damascus is an Emotional Trip Home

© AP PhotoSyrian Muslims walk in the courtyard of the historic Umayyad Mosque before weekly prayers in Damascus, Syria. File photo
Syrian Muslims walk in the courtyard of the historic Umayyad Mosque before weekly prayers in Damascus, Syria. File photo - Sputnik International
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Representatives of one of the largest Syrian-Lebanese diaspora communities outside of the Arab world, hailing from Brazil, paid an emotional trip to the capital of Syria to provide humanitarian aid to the government. The president of the Federation of Arab-American organizations in Brazil, Aziz Jarjour, spoke to Sputnik about his visit.

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“Our federation represents nearly 20 million descendants of Arabs who live in the North, Central and South America. Many of their ancestors arrived here without anything, they were very well accepted and they have not lost touch with their homeland,” Jarjour said.

He further said that their main motivation was to “help those who find themselves in a difficult situation.”

The aid included seven fully-equipped ambulances and 150 wheelchairs.

Talking about the organization’s visit to Syria, the president of the federation said that his team was operating in an area where everything was calm and despite Syria being at war; the streets in Damascus were relatively quiet and safe.

“There are many people everywhere and commerce is active. In particularly, in Damascus, the capital of Syria, life is normal,” Jarjour told Sputnik Brazil.

“Of course, the country is at war and there are checkpoints for the security of the population. The authorities are, however, closely monitoring the situation.”

Looking at the war in Syria, the president of the federation said that, “What we see are not Syrians who are fighting. There are ‘jackals,’ or mercenaries from more than 80 nationalities, who pursue their own specific objectives, which are far from the objectives of this war.”

Jarjour also mentioned the Syrian president, saying that, “He [Bashar Assad] is very well-balanced, kind and confident. He is a statesman who is aware of the responsibility that rests upon him. He is fighting for his country, for his own people,” Jarjour concluded.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Daesh and al-Nusra, both of which are banned in Russia and a range of other countries.

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