“Being a sign of hope in a dead city, destroyed and without a future, means to draw hope from the Source of Life and Hope that is Jesus Christ. Our eyes have seen the cruel reality. In these very difficult moments, only hope in God has given us the strength to move forward.” With these words, Fr. Ibrahim Alsabagh, a 44-year-old Franciscan priest, pastor of the Latin Parish of Aleppo, Syria, accepted the Jan Karski Eagle Award 2017, a prize dedicated to the memory of the famous Polish lawyer and activist, who was one of the first people to recount the drama taking place in German-occupied Poland during the Nazi regime.
The prize, which was established by Karski’s express wish shortly before his death in 2000, is awarded annually to people who stand out for their outstanding humanitarian service to others. This year, the ceremony took place in Krakow, Poland, and in conferring the prize on Fr. Ibrahim, Cardinal Dziwisz, archbishop emeritus of Krakow, underscored that it was because “he has brought hope to a world without hope and to a forgotten people.” Expressing his thanks, the Franciscan prelate said that this recognition was “an encouragement for me in this battle for my people, in my mission to bring them help, consolation and hope.”
