Over the past five years, based on my work as a journalist specialised in religious ecclesiastic media affairs through the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media and Lebanese NourSat satellite station, I accompanied several ecclesiastic delegations as well as organised and furthermore participated in conferences and workshops most of which discussed the issues of dialogue, solidarity, reconciliation, man's dignity and rights, as well as issues of justice, peace and prosperity. All these values support ​​human causes which incorporate pain, suffering, displacement, murder and death.

Life is not easy in Egypt for Christians. Beyond the reports of churches burned and homes attacked, there is a more subtle hardship affecting ordinary families. While not universal, mistreatment and discrimination are unfortunately common.

“Every day we leave our house, not knowing what will happen,” says Girgis, an Egyptian Catholic from Helwan—a city south of the Egyptian capital of Cairo—who prefers not to use his real name. “But this is the Christian way, to take things day by day,” he adds.

<p>Gunmen of Al Qaeda-affiliated &quot;Islamic State of Iraq and Al Sham (ISIS)&rdquo; have burned down the Church of the Holy Cross, located in the area of ​​Tal Abyad in Raqqa Province, northeast of Syria, on October 27, 2013.<br />Insurgents also took down the cross off the roof of the Armenian Church in the region.<br />Since the outbreak of armed clashes between the Syrian army and the opposition, dozens of churches were burned or destroyed in several areas in Syria which threatens the future of peaceful coexistence between the various communities in the count