Hundreds of Ottawa residents gathered on September 5th to raise awareness about the global refugee crisis and what is seen as the current Canadian government’s ongoing lack of support for refugees.

Last month, Project Communitas presented a webinar by Professor Amarnath Amarasingam, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University’s Resilience Research Centre. The webinar addressed the Syrian conflict in the context of the rising number of foreign fighters traveling recently to the region.

Talent for Syria is a unique and vibrant event that showcases the best of local talent. It’s a platform to engage youth and the greater community in artistic expression, while supporting a noble cause.

Yaman Marwah and Rama Imadi are the founders of the Syrian Association of Ottawa (SAO) which began as a regular university-based students' cultural association.

Mr. Marwah, SAO's President, is a 4th year student in Law and Economics at Carleton University. Ms. Imadi, SAO's Vice-President, is a 4th year student in Linguistics at the University of Ottawa. Both were galvanized by the March 2011 revolution in Syria to take action to raise awareness about the struggle of Syria's people against the regime.

Moved by the unending stories of death and destruction in Syria, a group of local high school students were inspired to take action. On June 5th, the Bell Islamic Students Association (BISA) organized a well-attended fundraiser to raise money to support Syrian refugees.

“After seeing the horrifying scenes on TV, the mass murder of innocents, the cruelty of the rapes and destruction, as a young activist, it moved me deep down to help the innocents of Syria in any way,” says Nour El-Nader, former Head Girl of the Bell Islamic Students Association (BISA). “That was my motive that kept me going until the dinner reached its success by funding $500.”

The RCMP is investigating a case of vandalism at the Syrian embassy on Cartier Street as people around the world protest escalating violence in Syria.

The front of the embassy was splattered with a large quantity of red paint overnight on Feb. 3 to symbolize the blood of the people killed in Syria. The paint covered the embassy door, mailbox, gates and canopy of the embassy's main entrance.