Since launching our I Am Syria campaign about a month ago, we often hear the question, “What is I Am Syria?” I want to take a quick minute and answer that question from the heart.
When our team from World Compassion visited refugee camps in June, where Syrian refugees live in Northern Iraq, we all left with a prevailing assessment. These people have had no representation inside and outside their country. A civil war has raged with both sides preying on innocent civilians. They have been pawns in a proxy war between the Middle East and sometimes the West.
As these Syrians told their stories to us, we felt their exasperation and humiliation from all they had suffered through. In that moment, World Compassion decided they needed a friend to help support them financially, spiritually and also to tell their story.
During WWII a brave band of college students inside Germany began a non-violent resistance to expose the oppression of the Third Reich. They started printing pamphlets and distributing them in an effort to tell the story of the atrocities being performed inside Germany and open the eyes of the citizens around them. This became known as the White Rose movement.
After printing and distributing five pamphlets, the leadership was discovered, tried and executed by the Nazi regime. Their sixth pamphlet was smuggled out of Germany, printed and distributed by the allied forces. One of the most famous statements of this movement was “we will not be silent.”
The Syrians we met with had a hardened resilience that was to be respected. Although they had experienced unimaginable oppression through countless war crimes (read our other blogs to learn more), they still believed freedom was possible for their country, their families and future…
“I will not be silent” was adopted as our slogan. Because we at World Compassion will not be silent about what they have suffered, their need for assistance and their willingness to learn about Christ. It is our obligation not to turn our eyes from their suffering but to speak and speak loudly on their behalf, to rally the church of Christ to help assist in their cause.
Joining the I Am Syria campaign provides you an opportunity to be a voice, by sharing World Compassion blogs, or wearing the new I Am Syria T-shirts. Be sure to follow and share social media through hashtag #iamsyria.
Wear your shirt, and don’t be silent.
