RR attended an evidence session hosted by Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee regarding UK policy on Syria. The session hosted five 'experts', none of whom were Syrian and who provided policy recommendations that, in the opinion of Rethink Rebuild Society as the voice of the Syrian community of Manchester, diverge from the opinions of Syrians themselves.
Although his brother was killed by ISIS, RR's Office Coordinator stressed in an interview with the Manchester Evening News that the Assad regime remains the main problem in Syria. He described his harrowing experience in fleeing Syria and coming to the UK, saying that '[m]aybe if I’d known this journey, I wouldn’t have left Syria'.
Yasser Aljassem, Rethink Rebuild Society's Office Coordinator, describes his dangerous journey to the UK, claiming that it is not anything that a woman or a child, or any human for that matter, should have to experience. Yasser longs to be reunited with his wife and two daughters after he is (hopefully) granted asylum by the Home Office.
A powerful article published on 4 September by Manchester Evening News highlights that City Councils across Greater Manchester are willing to do their part to accept more Syrian refugees. Rethink Rebuild Society was featured in this article, and our message was put forward very loudly that the UK must act to bring an end to the crisis in Syria: Assad must go.
In an interview on BBC Breakfast, Rethink Rebuild Society's Advocacy & Policy Coordinator made the case that the UK's primary responsibility should be to take action with other countries to end the conflict in Syria, and that until this happens, it should shoulder its responsibility to accept more Syrian refugees.
In an article in the Mancunian Matters, Rethink Rebuild Society said that Cameron’s pledge to take in more Syrian refugees is 'too little too late'. We hope that the UK can step up on European sphere and take in more Syrian refugees and, more importantly, take action to end the crisis in Syria.
In an article in The Independent, Syrians described their journey to the UK as being extremely dangerous and humiliating, and affirmed that they come to the UK 'for safety'. Rethink Rebuild Society said that '[w]e want the UK to take more Syrian refugees and step up to its responsibilities'..
A protest was held in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens on 4 September titled 'All Lives Matter! No Human is Illegal!' Rethink Rebuild Society was one of over twelve organisations that sponsored this protest. The turnout was very high and diverse and Manchester residents stated loud and clear that we want Manchester and the wider UK to resettle more refugees.
In a moving interview with Syrian asylum seeker Fadi Rajjoub on iTV, Rethink Rebuild Society said that the Northwest of England has been very accommodating, but that we can still house a lot more Syrian refugees. We emphasised that Syrians want to 'contribute to the economy, not take away from it'.
In an article on the increasing difficulty of Muslim charities to operate with respect to their banking, Rethink Rebuild cited bank account closures for Syrian individuals and organisations, calling it a discriminatory practice. Banks have been citing sanctions compliance as a reason for denying service to Syrians, which has negatively impacted humanitarian aid work.