syrian refugees

A group of Arabic-speaking University students and community members are volunteering as tutors for Syrian refugee families residing in Hyde Park. The volunteering is facilitated by an organization called Sirat, which provides aid and community services to refugee families. According to its website, Sirat promotes the development of cultural expression, religious involvement, and community service, in line with the values of Muslim faith.

Extraordinary bonds are forming on seemingly ordinary Saturdays as students and newcomers from Syria, Turkey, and Iraq spend the days conversing in Arabic and English at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Cultural Exchange Support Initiative (NMC-CESI) at U of T. The NMC-CESI acts as a resource for Syrian refugees and other newcomers from Arabic-speaking countries to improve their English

This is what is known as Syria Supper Club, in which Muslim refugees from Syria and Iraq join groups of mostly Jewish New Jerseyans for dinners that are part fundraiser, part cultural exchange. Women from the refugee families cook the elaborate feasts; the Americans host the meals. In January alone, 14 meals have been scheduled, all with different cooks.

Organizers hope to expand  the exhibition soon and find a larger venue for it. Meanwhile, other U.S. embassies — including the one in Berlin — are also helping Syrian artists gain exposure. Without art and culture, civilized societies cannot exist, said Al Kadri. The exhibition, he added, “is a big chance [to show] that Syria has a deep-rooted civilization.”

According to the United Nations, 6.6 million people have been displaced by Syria's civil war. They have found refuge across the globe, facing economic hardship, language barriers, social and cultural acclimation. Despite their challenges, Syrians find hope and solace in their traditional food culture as a source of normalcy, stability, and hope in bridging cultural divides. 

Only three weeks after her arrival via Turkey under Canada’s Syrian refugee resettlement program, Alkak is already making new friends through the Cultural Exchange and Support Initiative of the U of T Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations department. Since the project’s inception in the spring, Syrian youth eager to learn English have joined U of T student volunteers keen on brushing up their Arabic every Saturday.

As yet another report highlights the human toll of Australia’s offshore migrant processing system, NGOs and advocacy organizations are asking themselves what it will take to make a change. Countless investigators and human rights groups have raised concerns about Australia’s processing system in recent months, most recently Amnesty International with a report published Tuesday. 

The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will launch Forced From Home, an interactive, traveling exhibition on the global refugee and migration crisis, this week in New York City. Forced From Home is designed to deepen the public’s understanding of the desperate plight faced by more than 65 million displaced people worldwide. 

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