"The entire family has been massacred in Baniyas, Syria. They were Orthodox Christians. Humanity has failed!"

Over the past several days, social media has been flooded with reports of Syria's Christian and Alawite communities being targeted by government-aligned jihadists. Videos from Al Sanobar in Jableh show dozens of bodies—men, women, and children—left along the roadside. In Latakia, HTS militants reportedly went door to door, asking residents which sect they belonged to. Christians and Alawites were killed on the spot.

Anahit Khorsroeva, a professor of history specializing in genocide and a self-described Assyrian-Armenian activist, released a photo of an Orthodox Christian family massacred by HTS militants, stating, "The entire family has been massacred in Baniyas, Syria. They were Orthodox Christians. Humanity has failed!"

The Church of Antioch and other Christian communities have suffered immensely since the start of the Syrian Civil War. Before the war, Christians made up about ten percent of Syria’s population; today, that number has dwindled to just two percent. But while social media is filled with harrowing images and videos of Christians—physically beaten but spiritually unwavering—Western media remains largely silent. Some outlets have issued vague statements, claiming the details are unclear or even dismissing reports of Christian massacres as fake news. Yahoo News recently re-posted an article from France24 which claimed,

"while the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch stated that 'many Christians' have been massacred, a number of Syrian Christian churches have warned about fake news reports circulating on social media."

The article goes on to claim the "official" number of Christians killed is just seven. Yet anyone following X or Telegram has likely seen footage of seven Christians killed per day.

For whatever reason, Americans and Western Europeans seem reluctant to acknowledge the persecution of Christians in Syria. We’ve seen similar challenges in raising awareness about Christian persecution in Ukraine. Perhaps it's an unwillingness to accept that the factions we choose to support are not always the Jedi-led Rebel Alliance. But can American Christians remain silent while their country stands by, doing nothing to support their persecuted brethren abroad?

Fortunately, some are willing to speak out. On Friday morning, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13) took to X, declaring, "America should be defending Christians—not giving aid to those who persecute them."

While this statement from a sitting Congresswoman is encouraging, the reality is that one congresswomen cannot turn the ship by herself. Orthodox Christians know all too well that talk is cheap, what is needed is action.

Time is of the essence. We may very well be the generation that witnesses the end of 2,000 years of Christian history in Syria—the very Church of Antioch founded by the Apostles in the Book of Acts. While Orthodox activists and advocacy groups are speaking to folks in the Administration, real action will require Congressional support.

The reality is that Congress will only feel moved to support Syrian Christians if they feel their voters support such action. The only way they know what their constituents want, is if their constituents contact them.

The beauty of this system is that not as many people contact their representatives as one might think, so a three minute phone call can make a world of difference in swaying their opinion on an issue.  One may say "my Congressman is terrible, he doesn't care!" In such a hypothetical situation, contacting one (or all) of the representatives who sit on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is the best bet. Fortunately, all of these numbers are publicly listed (find their number here).

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