Vigil to bring awareness to rising violence in Syria
Nearly 100 people have signed up for silent event in memory of the hundreds killed this week
Local activists are gathering in silence to send their message loud and clear: Words are not enough to stop the escalating violence in Syria.
Nearly 100 people have signed up on Facebook to attend a silent candlelight vigil Friday in memory of hundreds of Syrians killed this week in Eastern Ghouta.
The event is one of many gatherings happening in Canadian cities.
“I almost don’t believe in protests and vigils anymore, but at the same time it’s just so hard not to do anything when you see what’s happening. It’s absolute insanity,” said Bayan Khatib, a local SyrianCanadian activist and one of the organizers of Friday’s event.
“It’s so hard to believe that the world just sits and watches. There’s half-a-million people under siege with no access to food, water or proper medicine, and now they’re being bombed.”
Human-rights organizations working inside Syria reported this week that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad carried out aerial bombings over Eastern Ghouta, where more than 400,000 civilians have been under siege for years, according to The Associated Press. More than 250 people were killed, children among them. It’s against international rules of war to attack such places.
Following the attacks, the UN children’s fund UNICEF issued a blank statement, later saying it no longer had words to express its outrage.
Khatib and other local activists are demanding more humanitarian assistance and for the international community to pressure Russia to stop supporting Assad.
“Everybody knows what’s going on, everything has been said, but words fall flat,” she said.