RR was a key organiser of the Syrian Platform for Peace launch in London on 18 February. This Platform, overseen by International Alert, will work towards peace-building in Syria. We were represented in the panel discussion in which we spoke of the Syrian diaspora's role in contributing to peace in Syria.
RR met with the family of the late Dr Abbas Khan on 18 February in London. We conveyed solidarity from the Syrian community and assured the family that Syrians will never forget those who sacrificed their lives to help the Syrians.
RR was approached in early January by Parliament's Treasury Committee to provide evidence of Syrians' negative experience with banks. However, as seen in this press release,we have declined to engage with the Committee's request because it has declined to explain to us how our evidence will be used or how the investigation will proceed.
RR hosted a 'Training of Trainers' workshop in collaboration with SYAN on 14-15 February in the RR facility room. The training was delivered by Mr. Manhal Al Dakhlallah and provided valuable information on the important skills of professional trainers.
RR's policy position on Syria was quoted in an article in the Mancunion Matters which covered MEP Afzal Khan's address to European Parliament on Syria. We were quoted as advocating that Assad is the root cause of the problem in Syria and that he should have no future in power.
RR issued a press release and a joint statement on behalf of Syrian groups and organisations in the UK regarding Assad's interview on BBC. The press release was picked up by BBC Radio Manchester, who invited us to a live interview.
In light of HSBC's most recent scandal of helping its wealthiest customers evade their tax obligations, we issued this press release to shed light on HSBC's deplorable treatment of its Syrian customers.
Our story was featured in this news article.
Our January monthly seminar focused on the ideas of freedom of speech and religion in a post-conflict Syria. The seminar was presented by Dr Haytham Alhamwi on 23 January.
RR attended a meeting at the BMHC on 14 January to discuss community-wide campaigning against the Counter Terrorism Bill. We have also been involved in other initiatives to counter this Bill.
RR was featured in an article that appeared in The Times on 2 January titled "Syrian refugees are 'grateful, but we didn't want to come here'". The article speaks of the experiences of a number of local Syrian refugees.