THE CRISIS IN SYRIA

AND HOW TO HELP

WHERE IS SYRIA?• SYRIA IS A COUNTRY IN THE

MIDDLE EAST NEXT TO JORDAN, TURKEY, AND PALESTINE.

• WHILE ETHNICALLY DIVERSE, MOST PEOPLE ARE ARABS AND SUNNI MUSLIMS.

• HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 22 MILLION!

WHO IS THE SYRIAN DICTATOR?• BASHAR AL-ASSAD IS THE DICTATOR, BORN IN

1965

• HIS FATHER, HAFEZ AL-ASSAD, LED SYRIA FOR THIRTY YEARS, AND BASHAR SUCCEEDED HIM IN 2000

• AFTER SEEING TUNISIA AND EGYPT REBEL AGAINST THEIR DICTATORS, SYRIA DID THE SAME

• AND THUS, THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR BEGAN.

SYRIAN CIVIL WAR• SYRIANS DESPISED DICTATORSHIP AS IT GAVE ALL POWER TO BASHAR

• ON MARCH 15TH 2011, THE SYRIANS STARTED TO PROTEST AND REBEL.

• THE PROTESTS WERE FIRST PEACEFUL

• STARTING IN APRIL 2011, THE GOVERNMENT STARTED TO DEPLOY SYRIAN SOLDIERS THAT OPENED FIRE ON THE PROTESTORS.

• AFTER SOME TIME, THE PROTESTS BECAME AN ARMED REBELLION.

• NOW THERE IS RAMPAGE CONSTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE STREETS

SYRIAN CIVIL WAR• THIS CHAOS INCLUDES MANY DEATHS, AS EXPECTED…

• HOWEVER, THE REAL DEAL IS HOW BASHAR AL-ASSAD IS ORDERING THESE CRIMES AGAINST HIS OWN PEOPLE!

• THIS CIVIL WAR IS NOT BETWEEN THE PEOPLE, IT IS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE GOVERNMENT!

• THERE HAVE BEEN THOUSANDS OF DEATHS…RECENTLY, THE DEATH TOLL HAS PASSED 120,000 PEOPLE

• THESE DEATHS HAVE CREATED ABOUT 2 MILLION REFUGEES, HALF OF THEM BEING CHILDREN

VIOLENCE IN SYRIA• BESIDES FIREARMS, MANY BOMBS AND MISSILES HAVE BEEN USED IN SYRIA AS WELL

• THESE WEAPONS ARE USED BOTH BY THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE PEOPLE, AND THE REBELS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

• THE MAIN TYPE OF WEAPON THAT GARNERED THE MOST CONTROVERSY WERE THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS, THAT WERE USED ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION.

• THE GHOUTA CHEMICAL ATTACK WAS THE GOVERNMENT’S MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE IN WHERE THEY USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

• THE REBEL FORCES ALSO HAD A VERY SERIOUS OFFENSE WHICH WAS KNOWN AS THE KHAN AL-ASSAL CHEMICAL ATTACK.

CHEMICAL ATTACKS• THE GHOUTA SUBURBS WERE A REBEL CONTROLLED DISTRICT AROUND

DAMASCUS, THE CAPITAL.

• ON AUGUST 21ST 2013, THE SUBURBS WERE STRUCK BY ROCKETS CONTAINING THE CHEMICAL SARIN.

• THE DEATH TOLL IS ESTIMATED FROM 281 TO 1,729 DEATHS.

• WITNESSES SAY THAT NONE OF THE DEATHS WERE PHYSICAL, AND WERE MAINLY CAUSED BY THE CHEMICAL.

• THE OPPOSITION ALSO USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS WHEN THEY FIRED MISSILES WITH CHEMICAL MATERIALS INTO THE KHAN AL-ASSAL DISTRICT, KILLING 25 PEOPLE.

SYRIAN CIVIL WAR• ALL THESE ATTACKS ARE NOT JUST AFFECTING THE REBELS…THEY ARE ALSO

AFFECTING THE INNOCENT SYRIANS THAT DO NOT WANT A PART IN THE VIOLENCE

• THESE HELPLESS PEOPLE ARE DYING BECAUSE OF ALL THIS VIOLENCE AND REBELLION…EVEN WHEN THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

• THE CONDITIONS ARE VERY HORRIBLE IN SYRIA, WITH PEOPLE NOT ONLY DYING FROM VIOLENCE, BUT OF STARVATION AS WELL.

• SYRIAN MUSLIM CLERICS (RELIGIOUS LEADERS) EVEN ISSUED A FATWA (RELIGIOUS DECLARATION) ALLOWING MUSLIMS TO EAT CATS AND DOGS TO EASE THEIR HUNGER.

HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE• SO HOW DO WE HELP?

• WE CAN ALL DONATE ZAKAT THROUGH MONEY OR CLOTHING TO THE SYRIAN REFUGEES/ORPHANS

• THESE REFUGEES NEED ALL THE ASSISTANCE THEY CAN GET, AND WE MUST BE THERE FOR THEM

• THEY DID NOT ASK FOR THIS, THEY WERE NOT AT FAULT, BUT THIS MISFORTUNE STILL FELL UPON THEM

• ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND WILL SURELY HELP YOU GAIN GOOD DEEDS

• WHETHER IT BE A BLANKET OR A COUPLE OF BUCKS, ANYTHING WILL HELP.

DONATION• YOU CAN DONATE BY PUTTING

MONEY IN THE DONATION BOX TODAY

• IF YOU ARE NOT READY TODAY, THERE IS A WEBSITE ONLINE THAT YOU CAN DONATE THROUGH WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD.

DONATION

• LINK TO WEBSITE:

HTTPS://WWW.WEPAY.COM/DONATIONS/STUDENTS-FOR-SYRIA• ALL DONATIONS WILL BE HANDED TO THE SYRIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL, WHICH

WILL BE TAKEN TO SYRIA

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!