Message from the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sami El-Yousef:
The war started on Saturday, about twelve days ago, and it was significant in the way it developed in a very short period of time. All of sudden we have sirens, blurring and we are being directed to go to shelters. Rockets and planes flying over heads and it was a very dramatic development in a very short period of time.
However, it’s significant to mention that by Wednesday we had approximately fifty percent of the staff who work here at the headquarters in Jerusalem, the old city of Jerusalem. And by Friday we had hundred percent of our staff reporting to work at a time when a state of emergency was declared, and people were really sort of requested to stay at home for the most part and avoid being out in the open.
If that says anything about the heroic work of the staff of the Latin Patriarchate it is a testimony to their dedication, to their serious understanding of who they are and why they are here as church employees. And to the fact that they realize that there is so much that’s take if they sit at home and try to work from home that is not very effective if they stay away from their workstation that’s means that their services will be interrupted, people will note received their salaries on time, pastoral work will be disrupted , the humanitarian work were thousands of people rely on our intervention will not receive their support on time.
And that was a conscious decision really, for most of these people to make that decision and be at their workstation, despite all the difficulties, despite all the risks, despite all the fear of being away from their loved ones, with their children doing their education online or whatever the reason is. And that is a testimony to us to all of us at the Latin Patriarchate here in Jerusalem to say that we are here to serve, we are here to stay, war will not stop us from continuing to provide all these services to the thousands of persons who rely on our services and we will continue to be here and provide that service to insure the continuity of the work and that it will be uninterrupted especially at a time of war when everyone is suffering so much.
So, the church proudly stands up tall during crisis as we have done in all the previous crisis. We are proud of all the staff who are reporting here in Jerusalem and through all the dioceses in the various countries where we operate.
This is an opportunity to say thank you to all of our staff for their unlimited dedication, commitment to their work, and commitment to serving. We are here to serve, and we will continue to do that.
