We attended a dinner organised by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisation (USSOM) on 3 September which brought together the Syrian community. That dinner followed their annual meeting held in Manchester during that weekend. USSOM talked about their work in Syria, and we also delivered a speech at the dinner about our organisation and our activities.
In an article by the International Business Times on 2 September titled 'Memories from Aleppo', we commented on the resilience of Syrian refugees in pushing against all odds to begin their new lives in the UK. This article interviewed Syrian refugees from Aleppo to talk about their city as they remember it before and after the war.
In response to a poorly-written and ill-informed article by Simon Jenkins in The Guardian found here, we issued the following response:
Amidst all of the confusion about what is happening in Syria, how the conflict started, and who is fighting who, we created this short quiz through which people can test their knowledge on the situation and learn some basic facts about the conflict! Take the quiz and share through social media to promote knowledge of these basic issues.
BRITAIN’S DEADLY NARCISSISM
By George Morris, Rethink Rebuild Society
The aim of the Syria Facts campaign is to tackle misconceptions about the Syrian conflict and to raise awareness of what is really happening in Syria. There are a number of things people can do to get involved in this campaign:
Rethink Rebuild Society helped Refugee Action in a campaign to let refugees learn. Our role in providing refugees with an opportunity to volunteer and practice their English was highlighted as highly constructive in the process of their integration into their new British community.
We issued a press release to highlight the dire conditions facing both Aleppo and Idlib in Syria. In Aleppo, chlorine bombs were dropped on civilian areas on 10 August. In Idlib, activists reported over twenty air raids by Russian and Assad forces on the same day.
Rethink Rebuild Society hosted a book launch on 2 August for the book 'Hikayat Binayetna' by Mansoura Koyomji. The book consisted of a collection of short stories which detailed life in a building in Damascus. Mansoura shared some of these stories with a captivated audience and signed copies of her book afterwards.
A very dynamic discussion at our Remembering Srebrenica film viewing of 'Women Who Refuse to Die', on 24th July, about how letting hate, such as Islamophobia, go unchecked can lead to genocide.
Rethink Rebuild Society
First Floor
Discovery House
Crossley Road
Manchester
SK4 5BH
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 161 222 9779
Mobile: +44 7730 194083