PHOTO COURTESY R. HANANIA
activisms_54-66_November/December 2012 Activisms 10/10/12 11:13 AM Page 62
(L-r) Dr. Abdul Ghani Sankri-Tarbichi, vice president of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS National), U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and Dr. Amjad Rass, president of the Syrian Sunrise Foundation.
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Syria Walkathon More than 700 people turned out Sept. 8 at the Huntington Beach pier in Los Angeles to walk for the children of Syria. It was one of 21 such fund-raisers staged that day in cities across the U.S. under auspices of the Syrian American Council, UNICEF and Rise 4 Humanity. Funds were raised by the sale of “Walk for Children of Syria” Tshirts. Signs carried by chanting marchers
watch as the carnage of civilians continues in cities across Syria,” said Dr. Malaz Alatassi, who lost a brother at the beginning of the Syrian conflict last year. Alatassi, a member of the two sponsoring organizations, painted a dire portrait of the growing tragedy, noting that more than 30,000 civilians have been killed and more than 50,000 children orphaned. The event drew a wide range of support from outside the American Syrian community, including from such other prominent American Arab leaders as Detroit attorney Joumana Kayrouz and attorney Steven Lagana, both of More than 700 people took part in the Walk for Children of whom contributed gen- Syria at Huntington Beach on Sept. 8. erously to the evening’s fund-raising drive. and even by toddlers in strollers helped to “This is a humanitarian crisis that tran- inform beachgoers of the carnage taking scends nationalities and religions and re- place in Syria. —Samir Twair quires that we all stand together to help civilians in desperate need,” Kayrouz said. Eyewitness to Aleppo Carnage The keynote speaker for the evening was Returning Sept. 21 from a one-week medthe French artist Roger Dale, who replicated ical relief mission to Aleppo was Dr. Ziyad Picasso’s famous mural “Guernica,“ depict- Kattih, a Glendora pain management speing the carnage following a famous 1937 cialist. He was accompanied on his mission Spanish Civil War battle. The mural became to deliver $10,000 worth of medical instruthe icon that rallied support against Spain’s ments and medicines by Omar Chamaa. fascist government of the time. Their trip was co-sponsored by the Syrian “Franco tried to destroy the city of Guer- American Medical Society (SAMS) and the nica in 1937,” Dale explained. “He sought Syrian American Council (SAC). the help of Hitler, who sent the Luftwaffe in The pair flew to Turkey, where they met STAFF PHOTO SAMIR TWAIR
Sept. 15 and 16 fund-raisers in Chicago Sept. 15 and Cleveland, respectively. Community leaders working through the charitable organizations the Syrian Sunrise Foundation and the Syrian American Medical Society expressed gratitude to members of the U.S. Congress and the administration of President Barack Obama for offering support. Michigan Congressman John Conyers, Jr. spoke at the Detroit event, vowing that protecting Syrian civilians from military assaults by that nation’s government was a “priority” in Washington, DC that is gaining more and more support. “Congress plans on dealing with this crisis in Syria as quickly as we can,” Conyers told the more than 400 people at the Detroit event, promising that he and others will meet with the president to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis. “Something needs to be done. This is a tragedy that is being replicated in other places. We have to do more. We cannot stand idly by.” Conyers said he was shocked by reports that the Syrian government of Bashar alAssad was attacking medical field stations set up to handle the increasing number of victims in the conflict. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) issued a strong statement through spokesperson Melanie Tesolin expressing his support of the efforts of American Syrians. Throughout the evening, American Syrian leaders also expressed sorrow for the needless killing of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. “We love America but we are also proud of our heritage. We cannot stand by and
April 1937 that bombarded and strafed the city until it was in ruins and thousands were killed and injured.” Picasso’s mural, Dale said, helped to prevent the massacre from being unnoticed or forgotten by the world. Dale was joined by two of the dozens of students who worked to create the replica, renamed “Guernica 1937-Homs 2012,” and placed on display at the fund-raiser through the Ecole Superieure des Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg. The mural, Dale said, “will one day hang on display in the free city of Homs and will symbolize how the world came together to help the people of Syria.” —Ray Hanania
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012