We participated in a Peace Walk for Syria on 2 January co-hosted by Syria Relief and the Islamic Society of Britain. It was a wonderful community initiative and excellent opportunity to reflect on what is happening in Syria.
We met with Alison McGovern MP on 23 December. Alison, who is the co-chair of the Friends of Syria All-Party Parliamentary Group, kindly came to our office in Longsight, and we discussed how the situation in Syria may progress and how we should respond here in the UK.
We attended a fundraising event for MSF hosted by local activists which sought to raise awareness of the situation in Aleppo and to support MSF's work in Syria. We gave a short talk in the event to provide an overview of the situation in Syria and to thank everyone for their show of solidarity.
We participated in a protest on 21 December in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens for Aleppo. The protest was organised by local activist Emma Leyla Mohareb who said that although she did not know much about the situation in Aleppo, she was moved by the pictures and videos that were coming out of the city and decided to do something about it.
We hosted an event at our office on 19 December titled 'What Is Aleppo?' With everything happening in Syria and in Aleppo specifically, we understand that people may be confused about the situation, what is happening on the ground, and which narrative to believe. This presentation therefore provided an overview of the Syrian conflict through the Syrian voice.
We had a movie night on 18 December in which we screened 'Land and Freedom' of the Spanish Revolution. The many parallels that could be extracted with respect to Syria generated an interesting discussion by the attendees.
We were invited to participate in the BBC Radio 5 Live Politics Programme to discuss Russia's role in Syria. The other guest on the programme was Alexander Nekrassov, former adviser to the Kremlin.
Rethink Rebuild Society connected Aleppo refugees in the UK with i News to give their narrative on what is happening in their home city. The horrors described by these refugees help to contextualise the conflict and highlight the impact that events in Aleppo are having on people across the world.
We provided the latest update on the situation from Aleppo to BBC Radio Manchester on 16 December. We highlighted the moral bankruptcy of the international system when we have to rejoice over forced evacuations, only because the alternative is genocide. We also highlighted the breaches of the ceasefire and the difficult situation still facing civilians in East Aleppo.
We were invited for an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss the situation in Aleppo. We mentioned the breaches of the ceasefire agreement and the desperate conditions of people inside the besieged area of the city.
Rethink Rebuild Society
First Floor
Discovery House
Crossley Road
Manchester
SK4 5BH
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 161 222 9779
Mobile: +44 7730 194083