SBC has participated in the screening of 'For Sama' film which took place at King's College London on Thursday the 4th of February. Manager Director of the Syrian British Council, Dr. Abdulkareem Ekzayez has taken part in a panel discussion following the screening and answered many questions related to the Syrian scenario in the light of the last events in Idlib. Dr. Ekzayez started by mentioning that everything he saw in For Sama, which talks about the situation of Aleppo during the year of 2016, is repeating itself now in Idlib, it also happened in Ghouta and Daraa. However, the international community did not intervene or take any action to stop that and protect the civilians.
For Sama gave a crystal-clear picture of the situation in Aleppo in detail and in a very credible narrative. The same is happening now in Idlib and no action is taken at all. Dr. Ekzayez further gave updates about the situation in Idlib and the humanitarian crisis happening there; 500000 people have been forcibly displaced, 2000 civilians were killed during the recent military escalations in Idlib governorate. Assad regime forces entered Ma'rat al-Numan city, and the city of Saraqib was evacuated from its people. When asked about actions that can be taken from people here to support, Dr. Ekzayez answered saying that we should first show sympathy, try to feel the suffering that people are experiencing in Idlib and try to educate people around us of what is going on in Idlib and Syria in general. Also, try to give the true narrative of the war in Syria. It is not a war against terrorism as Assad regime and its allies claims in their propaganda. The truth is that it is a war between a regime supported by Russia, Iran, China, and sectarian militias against the oppositions of this regime. Also, we should use any means that we have to exert more effort on the British government and the international community to act through using our connections with our MPs or any other connections that we have with civil servants demanding to demand the international community to act to protect civilian populations in Idlib.
Another point is that supporting the Syrian refugees in the UK by comprehending the circumstances that brought them here. The last point was supporting charities and NGOs that make efforts to protect and support civilians in Idlib through donations and volunteering.
