Syria is still in trouble, and We need to Acknowledge this

Amal Kassir, poet, is seriously affected by the Syrian War and Crisis and pushes to help bring awareness and aid to the country

The Syrian war entered its 8^th year on March 15^th, 2018. 465,000 people have been killed, 1 million injured, and 12 million displaced. Just recently, Syrian government forces have regained control of nearly all of Eastern Ghouta. The area has been the last rebel stronghold close to the capital Damscus. The region had been under control of the opposition to the government since 2013, and now, literally, all hope is lost as people were evacuated from the area. Only Douma is left, which is a town north-east of the center of Damascus. When will this cruelty end?

This is what many Syrians are wondering right now as they endure the pain of losing their loved ones, homes, and even being in the middle of the crossfire. It has been leaving a serious effect on those directly involved and indirectly involved. One Syrian-American woman who is definitely disturbed by the crisis is Amal Kassir. Out of the 465,00 killed, 27 are members of her family.

Amal Kassir was born in Denver, Colorado by a Syrian father and a German mother. She often says, “I come from a dinner table of tabbouleh and meatloaf, best meals of both worlds.”

As a university student, Kassir actually designed her own undergraduate degree called ‘Community Programming in Social Psychology.’ It is a combination of child psychology, writing, and education to develop multiple curricula for refugee children in trauma, influenced by her passion in aiding refugee kids that fled from Syria. She explained that, “I decided to create this particular degree because there was nothing at her college for me. Nothing that spoke to me and fulfilled my deepest passions. I suggest you find what you love and believe in, and go for it.”

Kassir is a spoken word poet, renowned speaker, and artist, having performed in 10 countries and 45 cities, and many colleges.  She has even performed on the TED stage and won several awards for her grand slam talents. She recently spoke at Claremont McKenna College, touching many hearts of the students who attended, including myself. Tears left my eyes as I heard the pain her and her family have endured, embracing the reality of the situation occurring today. It is heartbreaking.

Kassir and her family lived in Syria from 2002-2005. After 9/11, it became too hard for her family, being outwardly Muslim in America, to live in peace. People continually called her names for walking around with a hijab, threw bricks at her family’s shop. She was just as innocent any other person living in America at the time.

Her time in Syria, however, was a time in which was very important to the development of the rest of her life. She learned Arabic there, and bonded with many of her family members, who she would later never see again. She was able to see her grandmother’s farm, which in turn, ended up being the topic of one of her most famous poems.  It also allowed for her to gain the perception in what is occurring in Syria, and be able to move forward a movement toward gaining awareness of the horrific events that are happening. “No matter how hard it is being a Muslim woman in America, it is even harder living in Syria, and enduring the struggles encompassing the country now.”

She moves forward the movements of women inequality, Islamophobia, and aiding in the Syrian crisis, and Syrian refugee crisis. Furthermore, she fulfills her goal of aiding refugee children to gain the opportunity of sufficient education by running a project called More than Metaphors, which focuses on the education initiative for displaced Syrian children.

Hearing Amal’s story, one is moved by all that this woman and her will to continue even after so much pain and loss. “I use my poems and my voice to be able to fuel my causes. It’s always an intense feeling before a performance knowing that I am the only one on the stage speaking, and I am responsible for what individuals have learned when they walk out of the room.”