{"id":43470,"date":"2016-10-05T16:00:08","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T21:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=43470"},"modified":"2016-10-05T16:00:08","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T21:00:08","slug":"chicago-college-students-urge-compassion-and-action-for-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-college-students-urge-compassion-and-action-for-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago college students urge compassion and action for Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maryam Saleh<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dana Zakieh gazed at the room full of students and gave them an order.<\/p>\n

\u201cSit down if you have ever been forced to leave your country by consequence of a violent occurrence in that country,\u201d said the 20-year-old Syrian-American psychology student.<\/p>\n

Not a single person took a seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is it. All of you guys are standing. I want you to recognize how incredibly blessed we are,\u201d she said at the student gathering about the Syrian crisis.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Loyola University Chicago students gathered last Thursday evening in an effort to stir empathy for Syrian refugees and to raise awareness about the causes of the refugees’ \u00a0flight.<\/p>\n

Four Loyola student groups \u2013 Student Advocates for Medicine in Politics (SAMP), Students Organize for Syria (SOS), Loyola Refugee Outreach and UNICEF \u2013 launched a three-part Blossoming Hope campaign last week to bring attention to Chicago\u2019s growing Syrian refugee population.<\/p>\n

The meeting was followed by a candlelight vigil to shed light on a recent escalation of violence in Aleppo, Syria,<\/a> and to mourn the lives lost there.<\/p>\n

\"Blossoming<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
The Blossoming Hope campaign was launched at SAMP\u2019s second general body meeting of the semester, in collaboration with Students Organize for Syria, Loyola Refugee Outreach and UNICEF. Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Khan<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Mohammedi Khan (right) and Melissa Vazquez are leaders of Student Advocates for Medicine in Politics, an organization started at Loyola University that aims to stir student focus on the political contexts for medical situations. Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Students<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Loyola University students watch a video about Syrian refugees at the launch of Blossoming Hope, a student-led campaign to reduce stigma about refugees on campus. Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Dana<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Dana Zakieh, 20, leads an activity meant to get Loyola students to appreciate their \u201cprivileged lives.\u201d Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"John<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Chicago pediatrician John Kahler speaks at a candlelight vigil that was held at Loyola University, where dozens gathered to express solidarity with the people of Aleppo, Syria. Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Mahdi<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Mahdi Sahloul, 20, (right) is president of the Loyola University chapter of Students Organize for Syria, a national student activism group that seeks to raise awareness about Syrians\u2019 struggle for freedom. Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Aleppo<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Students and community members listen to speeches by students, faith leaders, and Chicago physicians who have traveled to Syria on medical missions. Sept. 29, 2016. (Maryam Saleh\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Moment<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

While Americans are deeply divided on the issues of refugee resettlement and the nation\u2019s involvement in the Syrian crisis, the students appeared eager to take on the challenge.<\/p>\n

A recent survey<\/a> by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs revealed that only 36 percent of Americans support taking in refugees from Syria. Half of those polled said they support the enforcement of a no-fly zone over parts of the country, including bombing Syrian air defenses.<\/p>\n

The Syrian government is responsible for the majority of civilian deaths in Syria, according to human rights monitors.<\/p>\n

Local support for Syrian refugees<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Blossoming Hope campaign was spearheaded by SAMP to stir compassion for Syrian children and to bring light to a humanitarian crisis of disastrous proportions that is too often ignored because Syria is \u201ctoo complicated to understand,\u201d said Mohammedi Khan, who is president of the student group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen thinking about Syria, you see videos of just rubble, dust, destruction, death [and] atrocities,\u201d she added. \u201cBut you can\u2019t get out of that mentality until you start to see positivity, you start to see hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khan, 21, and Melissa Vazquez, talked at the meeting about vulnerable populations and especially refugee children who suffer from workplace exploitation, educational deprivation and psychological trauma.<\/p>\n

They showed a video produced by the British charity Save the Children which makes the plight of Syrians relatable by imagining a British child refugee fleeing the UK in search of safety.<\/p>\n