SOS Syria is underway

There has been a fantastic response to the student lead initiative, Action Syria, raising awareness about the situation in Syria at Imperial College. The turmoil in Syria has become dramatically worse over the last two years. The situation in Syria is typically reported as political issue in the headlines; however, the focus of Action Syria has been solely on the humanitarian side.

The President of the Islamic Society at Imperial, Usman Siddiqui said “The interest and concern shown by many students for those suffering thousands of miles away has been really uplifting, as living in Central London many neighbours do not even look out for each other.”

Last Tuesday, the Keynote lecture on Syria was held at Imperial. The speakers included Iman Murphy, a business woman, mother and an aid worker for the charity “Hand in Hand Syria”; Dr. Mahmoud Akraa, a medical doctor who has treated injured people in Syria; and Shafiul Amin the founder for Students4Syria. They all delivered emotional speeches, speaking about their experience in Syria as well as motivating the attendees to participate and make a difference.

Iman Murphy kindly gave Felix a quote as to why students should donate “we share the same sky, live in the same world; regardless of age, creed and gender we have a responsibility. For what it would cost you to buy a pair of shoes is enough to feed a family in Syria for a month.”

The good news is if you missed the lecture, don’t worry you can still help out. As a major aspect of the campaign, there is an items collection for an aid convoy that will be leaving for Syria next weekend. This is an opportunity for you to directly make a difference to people’s lives! Old clothes will be used to generate funds and new ones will be sent to Syria. The Union is also helping and we have a drop off point at the Union reception. There are more details on the website.

One of the organisers commented “anyone can contribute, as students we tend to have a lot of little things that we rarely use or wear; this little will go a long way, it will provide them with hope and show the Syrian people that others in the world do care and do remember.”

The Facebook page also mentions “When a similar collection was held in the Midlands, people cleaned, ironed, perfumed and wrapped the clothes before giving. Some people attached messages to the bags in the hope that those receiving would not feel hurt or inferior.”

One of the students response to the campaign was “It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of things that shock and upset us, yet instead of surrendering themselves to apathy a young group of Imperial students have built a campaign from nothing, it’s very impressive and has certainly inspired me.” There is also a Facebook page that gives daily updates: https://www.facebook.com/ActionSyria. Whether or not you are a tweeter, be sure to check out #ActionSyria. So get informed and get involved.

The suggested itemsare

Medicine (high priority): Antibiotics, Insulin, Amlodipine, Atenolol, Ibuprofen, Colic remedy, Paracetamol, first aid kits.

Clothing: Blankets, sleeping bags, thermals, trousers, sweaters, socks, hijabs, hats, shoes, tights and all kind of clothes in good condition.

Toiletries: Sanitary towels, soap, nail clippers, combs, nappies, nappy cream, tampons

For children: toys, colouring books, pencils and crayons, children arabic books, Wellington boots

Make sure items are not expired, clean, and in good condition (used goods can still be sold to purchase life-saving medicine).