have it, the students seem to 
be very passionate about these 
things and want to learn about. 
I’m happy we get to have it 
here.”
The 
weekend’s 
event 
consisted of a series of talks 
and 
discussions 
from 
13 
speakers, 
many 
of 
whom 
represented 
various 
Syrian 
activist organizations. Activist 
Shiyam 
Galyon, 
former 
director of the Books Not 
Bombs campaign that captured 
campus 
attention 
in 
2016, 
delievered 
the 
conference 
keynote Saturday morning— 
the 
rest 
of 
the 
speakers 
included representatives from 
the Syrian American Medican 
Society, 
Syrian 
Community 
Network, 
Syrian 
American 
Council 
and 
the 
Karam 
Foundation. 
Public 
Policy 
senior Zoha Qureshi, president 
of 
the 
University’s 
SOS 

chapter, said every speaker 
had an important message to 
share with the conference, 
but cited Loubna Mrie, a 
Syrian photojournalist, had an 
especially strong effect.
“Honestly, the lineup of 
speakers 
was 
incredible,” 

Qureshi said. “I’d say Loubna 
(Mrie) who spoke yesterday, 
she was a photographer on the 
front lines, her experiences 
were so raw and so personal 
and it just really struck a chord 
within me and I think she’s 
just phenomenal, but every 
other speaker had something 

really important to contribute. 
They’re just so phenomenal 
and I’m really glad they took 
the time this weekend to come 
and share their experiences 
and share their ideas on how 
we can make an impact.”
The 
event 
included 
10 
speaker sessions with topics 
ranging from policy, advocacy 
and lobbying to journalism 
in war zones, all of which 
addressed the future of the 
Syrian 
conflict. 
Many 
of 
the discussions began with 
presentations 
from 
each 
speaker before moving into a 
Q&A discussion with audience 
members. Qureshi said the 
Q&A 
allowed 
attendees 
to 
not only listen but actively 
participate with the speakers.
“I think it’s really important 
to 
have 
that 
engagement 
because if it’s just a bunch of 
lectures in a long span of time 
you kind of zone out and you 
lose track of what’s going on,” 
Qureshi said. “Just having that 
continuous conversation that’s 
really what makes things 
stick in people’s minds.”
Many 
attendees 
revealed they felt personal 
connections 
with 
the 
event speakers. LSA senior 
Ahmad Alabed, a member 
of the University’s SOS 
chapter, said the firsthand 
experiences of the activists 
allowed him to learn new 
information and see the 
Syrian conflict from a new 
point of view.
“I’m Syrian so I do have 
that firsthand experience 
from my family, but my 
family doesn’t live there,” 
Alabed said. “I hear from 
the people who live in the 
States, and I have my own 
opinion on what’s going on, 
but it’s very difficult to get 
an actual activist’s opinion 
who’s been there who’s 
been through things that 
these speakers have been 
through, and I think that’s 
really 
important. 
Just 
from the two speakers I’ve 
attended, it’s completely 
new information I’ve never 
had access to.”

Rackham 
student 
Hani 
Habra said he gained a new 
perspective from listening to 
the speakers, which provided 
him with a different way of 
learning 
about 
the 
Syrian 
situation.
“I do a lot of reading on the 
conflict, but actually meeting 
the people and hearing their 
perspective, it kind of gives 
a kind of different dimension 
to actually reading what they 
have to say. It feels a lot more 
real,” Habra said.
According to Rass, being 
surrounded by others who 
care about the conflict in Syria 
allows her to stay motivated 
and keep pushing to make an 
impact.
“This 
conference 
is 
important 
to 
me 
for 
two 
reasons,” Rass said. “One is 
that it helps me stay energized, 
passionate and also learning 
on how to keep organizing and 
moving forward and how we 
can keep doing work in these 
universities. The second part is 
being around people who share 
this passion is so important. 
Being around other Syrian 
Americans that care about this, 
even being around people who 
aren’t Syrian who are super 
passionate about this cause is 
an enriching experience that is 
super important to have.”
Through 
addressing 
solutions to the Syrian conflict, 
many 
speakers 
emphasized 
the 
importance 
of 
raising 
awareness 
for 
the 
Syrian 
cause. 
Qureshi 
maintainted 
people nationwide and around 
the world should learn about 
and advocate for solutions to 
the Syrian conflict to encourage 
tangible change.
“It’s important to know that 
you don’t have to be Syrian to 
care about these issues, you 
just have to be human and 
have a heart,” Qureshi said. 
“Honestly, there’s just so many 
ways to make an impact that 
can be as little or big as you 
want it to be, I just want people 
to leave feeling empowered. 
Like Amal said, this has been 
going on for seven years, there’s 
still a lot to be done.”

HOLIDAY OPE N HOUSE

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It’s very difficult 
to get an actual 
activist’s opinion 
who’s been there

