The Valley Syrian Relief Committee was formed more than three years ago by a small group of local people to raise funds for relief efforts for the victims of the war in Syria.
At that time, Assad’s war against the Syrian people had been going on for more than two years, yet few in our community knew that the Syrian government was relentlessly punishing the civilian population for demanding democratic reforms, as other countries had done during the “Arab Spring.”
We began our efforts with educational presentations to faith-based communities, whose positive responses to our requests for help culminated in a Songs for Syria concert Sept. 27, 2015. Over 600 people filled First Churches that afternoon, donating more than $35,000 to The Syrian American Medical Society, a relief organization that in 2015 alone provided medical care to more than two million people in Syria and neighboring refugee camps.
This past November, more than 700 people attended a second Songs for Syria concert in Boston. Today, because of the generosity of our community, the Valley Syrian Relief Committee has raised close to $150,000. and reached more than 2,000 people through our presentations.
While we have accomplished much, we are heartbroken that the persecution of Syrian innocents continues. The best humanitarian response is to try to end this war so that Syrians can return home.
We have met with our congressional representatives, reached out to hundreds to join us in calling on Congress and President Obama to demand that Putin and Assad stop bombing hospitals and homes, stop starving families, stop denying medical care to those in need, stop preventing people from finding safe havens, stop disappearing, executing and torturing young men in detention centers, and stop creating a generation of traumatized, orphaned, and injured children.
We have called the Russian embassy and the United Nations and joined with Syrian human rights organizations to demand that the governments of Syria, Russia and Iran stop the killing.
Yet, our efforts have done little to prevent the deaths of approximately half a million Syrians, including 50,000 children. Last week , the television coverage of the destruction of Aleppo made all of us bystanders to this devastating carnage. We watched in horror as women and children begged us to save them, waiting for world leaders to do something, anything to help the victims.
Obama’s silence as Aleppo burned was deafening. Whether it was fear of jeopardizing the Iran deal, fear of having a negative effect on the presidential election, or fear of Russia’s response, there is no justification for Obama’s passivity or that of the U.S. Congress, in the face of this tragedy. He tells us, “… the world will not forget.” We will also not forget that our president ignored not only the pleas of those in Syria, but the pleas of American citizens as well.
The impending presidency of Donald Trump gives us little hope that the U.S. will hold the governments of Syria, and its allies, Russia and Iran, accountable for their war crimes. Yet, we refuse to give in to pessimism. We must remember that the war in Syria was precipitated by Assad’s violent response to ordinary people who demanded many of the same democratic freedoms that we have enjoyed in this country.
Governments have turned their backs on Syria, but people haven’t, and that includes our Pioneer Valley community. You showed up at Songs for Syria, held Soup for Syria events all over the Valley, and called the White House and your legislators, demanding that they act. You held clothing drives for those living in refugee camps, and showed up to bear witness in front of First Churches for a vigil for Syria on Dec. 18. Western Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern has been one of the few members of Congress to hold our government accountable for its moral failures in Syria.
Your generosity and willingness to act fuel our efforts. Public visibility will be needed much more in the future. Aleppo has fallen, but the war is far from over.
If people don’t come out, take part in rallies and demonstrations, and pressure our Congressional people, then they will have no incentive to act.
We will continue to enlist this amazing and concerned community to join in our efforts on behalf of those who are suffering in Syria. Thank you for all you have done in the past and all you will do in the future.
This column was written by the members of the Valley Syrian Relief Committee.