Last Thursday 1st of December, Warwick STAR held one of its big events: ‘Are We Saving the Children?’ Fundraiser, Film Screening and Panel. It was the first event of its kind this year which brings together local and global actors to help draw attention to a key factor behind the refugee crisis and most importantly to reach Aleppo with urgent humanitarian support. The city has been under intense non-stop fire from Russian and Assad forces over the past two weeks. Hundreds of civilians, including children were targeted by the merciless war machines. We, at Warwick STAR a major supporter for refugees on campus, and in collaboration with the Student Union at Warwick University stood to address the challenge.

The event took place at Warwick University and it was attended by students and representatives of a few societies on campus. The event started by a brief introduction by Warwick STAR president who highlighted the rational of the event and the programme of the day. The White Helmets documentary, available on Netflix, was then played on a big screen. The documentary featured the heroic work of rescue teams who saved the lives of more than 58,000 Syrians from under the rubble. It is worth mentioning that one of the team members of White Helmets was in Coventry last week to receive the Peace Prize awarded by Rising Global.

That was followed by a discussion from panellists and audience. On the panel, there were Cllr Ram Lakha, an elected councillor from Coventry City Council; Maddy Robinson, Student Network Coordinator from STAR National; Hope Warsdale, Education Officer at Warwick University SU and Reem Doukmak, Warwick STAR president. The main question for the panel was: ‘How can the UK respond to the ongoing crisis in Syria, especially in terms of humanitarian and education support?’. Each panellist shared their perspectives highlighting their respective organisation’s work with refugees.

Besides being informative, the event promoted to take action to address the situation. For this purpose, a fundraiser was arranged in collaboration with Human Concern UK, a UK based charity which provides medical and humanitarian aid and also supports schools in war-affected areas in Syria. £160+ was raised which are meant to provide crucial blankets and stoves for children and families displaced inside Syria. The winter campaign of Human Concern UK is heading to Aleppo in a week time if you still wish to donate. http://humanconcern.org.uk/

by Reem Doukmak (Warwick STAR president)