2. WHERE IS SYRIA?
• SYRIA IS A COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE
EAST NEXT TO JORDAN, TURKEY, AND
PALESTINE.
• WHILE ETHNICALLY DIVERSE, MOST
PEOPLE ARE ARABS AND SUNNI
MUSLIMS.
• HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 22
MILLION!

3. WHO IS THE SYRIAN DICTATOR?
• BASHAR AL-ASSAD IS THE DICTATOR, BORN IN 1965
• HIS FATHER, HAFEZ AL-ASSAD, LED SYRIA FOR THIRTY YEARS,
AND BASHAR SUCCEEDED HIM IN 2000
• AFTER SEEING TUNISIA AND EGYPT REBEL AGAINST THEIR
DICTATORS, SYRIA DID THE SAME
• AND THUS, THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR BEGAN.

4. SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
• SYRIANS DESPISED DICTATORSHIP AS IT GAVE ALL POWER TO BASHAR
• ON MARCH 15TH 2011, THE SYRIANS STARTED TO PROTEST AND REBEL.
• THE PROTESTS WERE FIRST PEACEFUL
• STARTING IN APRIL 2011, THE GOVERNMENT STARTED TO DEPLOY SYRIAN SOLDIERS THAT OPENED FIRE
ON THE PROTESTORS.
• AFTER SOME TIME, THE PROTESTS BECAME AN ARMED REBELLION.
• NOW THERE IS RAMPAGE CONSTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE STREETS

5. SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
• THIS CHAOS INCLUDES MANY DEATHS, AS EXPECTED…
• HOWEVER, THE REAL DEAL IS HOW BASHAR AL-ASSAD IS ORDERING THESE CRIMES AGAINST HIS OWN
PEOPLE!
• THIS CIVIL WAR IS NOT BETWEEN THE PEOPLE, IT IS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE GOVERNMENT!
• THERE HAVE BEEN THOUSANDS OF DEATHS…RECENTLY, THE DEATH TOLL HAS PASSED 120,000 PEOPLE
• THESE DEATHS HAVE CREATED ABOUT 2 MILLION REFUGEES, HALF OF THEM BEING CHILDREN

7. VIOLENCE IN SYRIA
• BESIDES FIREARMS, MANY BOMBS AND MISSILES HAVE BEEN USED IN SYRIA AS WELL
• THESE WEAPONS ARE USED BOTH BY THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE PEOPLE, AND THE REBELS AGAINST THE
GOVERNMENT.
• THE MAIN TYPE OF WEAPON THAT GARNERED THE MOST CONTROVERSY WERE THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS, THAT
WERE USED ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION.
• THE GHOUTA CHEMICAL ATTACK WAS THE GOVERNMENT’S MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE IN WHERE THEY USED
CHEMICAL WEAPONS.
• THE REBEL FORCES ALSO HAD A VERY SERIOUS OFFENSE WHICH WAS KNOWN AS THE KHAN AL-ASSAL
CHEMICAL ATTACK.

8. CHEMICAL ATTACKS
• THE GHOUTA SUBURBS WERE A REBEL CONTROLLED DISTRICT AROUND DAMASCUS, THE CAPITAL.
• ON AUGUST 21ST 2013, THE SUBURBS WERE STRUCK BY ROCKETS CONTAINING THE CHEMICAL SARIN.
• THE DEATH TOLL IS ESTIMATED FROM 281 TO 1,729 DEATHS.
• WITNESSES SAY THAT NONE OF THE DEATHS WERE PHYSICAL, AND WERE MAINLY CAUSED BY THE
CHEMICAL.
• THE OPPOSITION ALSO USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS WHEN THEY FIRED MISSILES WITH CHEMICAL
MATERIALS INTO THE KHAN AL-ASSAL DISTRICT, KILLING 25 PEOPLE.

9. SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
• ALL THESE ATTACKS ARE NOT JUST AFFECTING THE REBELS…THEY ARE ALSO AFFECTING THE INNOCENT
SYRIANS THAT DO NOT WANT A PART IN THE VIOLENCE
• THESE HELPLESS PEOPLE ARE DYING BECAUSE OF ALL THIS VIOLENCE AND REBELLION…EVEN WHEN THEY
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT
• THE CONDITIONS ARE VERY HORRIBLE IN SYRIA, WITH PEOPLE NOT ONLY DYING FROM VIOLENCE, BUT OF
STARVATION AS WELL.
• SYRIAN MUSLIM CLERICS (RELIGIOUS LEADERS) EVEN ISSUED A FATWA (RELIGIOUS DECLARATION)
ALLOWING MUSLIMS TO EAT CATS AND DOGS TO EASE THEIR HUNGER.

10. HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
• SO HOW DO WE HELP?
• WE CAN ALL DONATE ZAKAT THROUGH MONEY OR CLOTHING TO THE SYRIAN REFUGEES/ORPHANS
• THESE REFUGEES NEED ALL THE ASSISTANCE THEY CAN GET, AND WE MUST BE THERE FOR THEM
• THEY DID NOT ASK FOR THIS, THEY WERE NOT AT FAULT, BUT THIS MISFORTUNE STILL FELL UPON THEM
• ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND WILL SURELY HELP YOU GAIN GOOD
DEEDS
• WHETHER IT BE A BLANKET OR A COUPLE OF BUCKS, ANYTHING WILL HELP.

11. DONATION
• YOU CAN DONATE BY PUTTING MONEY IN
THE DONATION BOX TODAY
• IF YOU ARE NOT READY TODAY, THERE IS A
WEBSITE ONLINE THAT YOU CAN DONATE
THROUGH WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD.

12. DONATION
• LINK TO WEBSITE:
HTTPS://WWW.WEPAY.COM/DONATIONS/
STUDENTS-FOR-SYRIA
• ALL DONATIONS WILL BE HANDED TO THE SYRIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL, WHICH WILL BE TAKEN TO SYRIA

13. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!