The special representative of the German Bishops Conference (Dbk) for refugees, the archbishop of Hamburg mgr. Stefan Hesse ended his 4-day journey in Lebanon today. Arrived on July 15th, Hesse saw first-hand the Church’s aids programmes for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and, with the people of Caritas and the other charities working in Lebanon, he considered the humanitarian and political situation and met the refugees to bring them the solidarity of the German Catholics: “I have been deeply touched by my visit to a Caritas tent city in the Bekaa valley, and in Beirut by the celebrations of the Orthodox Assyrian Christians escaped from North-Eastern Syria because of the so-called Islamic State”, the archbishop said. “I will never forget the empty stare of a young mother who told me how she was caught and locked up by Isis along with all of the 85 inhabitants of her village”, pointed out Hesse, who said that “in Lebanon the situation is usually very different from that of Europe”, and all the countries that host traumatised refugees, especially women and children, such as Germany, should increase their psycho-social support. Since the start of the war, more than 1.2 million Syrians have found shelter In Lebanon: and one should never forget that Syria occupied Lebanon for over ten years, because, “even if not all the Lebanese’s wounds have been healed, the local Churches and the other organisations are providing great support”.