Giant Jesus statue is raised in midst of Syrian war

Christians and other minorities are all
targets in the conflict, and the new statue’s
safety is far from guaranteed.
That the statue made it to Syria and went
up without incident
Oct. 14 is remarkable. The project took
eight years and was set back by the civil
war that followed the March 2011 uprising
against President Bashar al-Assad.
Christians and other minorities are all
targets in the conflict, and the statue’s
safety is by no means guaranteed. It stands
among villages where some fighters have
little sympathy for Christians.
So why put up a giant statue of Christ in
the midst of such setbacks and so much
danger?
Because “Jesus would have done it,”
organizer Samir al-
Ghadban quoted a Christian church leader
as telling him.
The backers’ success in overcoming the
obstacles shows the complexity of civil war,
where sometimes, despite the atrocities, the
warring parties can reach short-term
truces.
Ghadban said that the main armed groups
in the area — Syrian government forces,
rebels and the local militias of Sednaya, the
Christian town near the project site —
halted their fire while organizers set up the
statue.
Rebels and government forces occasionally
agree to cease-fires to allow the movement
of goods, but they typically do not admit to
them.
It took three days to raise the statue.
Photos provided by organizers show it
being hauled in two pieces by farm
tractors, then lifted into place by a crane.
Smaller statues of Adam and Eve stand
nearby.
The project, called “I Have Come to Save
the World,” is run by the London-based St.
Paul and St. George Foundation, which
Ghadban directs.
Ghadban said most of the financing came
from private donors, but he did not give
further details.
Russians have been a driving force behind
the project — not surprising given that the
Kremlin is Assad’s chief ally and that the
Orthodox churches in Russia and Syria
have close ties. Ghadban, who spoke from
Moscow, is Syrian Russian and lives in both
countries.
Ghadban said he began the project in 2005,
hoping the statue would be an inspiration
for Syria’s Christians. He said he was
inspired by Rio de Janeiro’s towering Christ
the Redeemer statue.
“It was a miracle,” Ghadban said. “Nobody
who participated in this expected this to
succeed.”