On March 8th, SAFEHR UIC hosted Arts for Humanity #SyriaSpeaks. The art gala event focused on bringing attention to the 250,000 Syrians that have died, the 7.6 million Syrians in displacement, and the over 15 million in need for assistance. Through art, we were able to join in bringing attention to the oppression that Syrians have been going through since 2010.
The event had amazing art pieces that focused on the lives of Syrians in their war torn home.
Another form of art the event had was spoken word/poetry. Through words and performances, students were able to express their feelings of the issues that are going on in Syria.
The guest speaker of the night was activist, teacher, and poet Abdi Phenomenal. In the past, he has been featured at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and the New York Times. During the event, Abdi shared his personal accounts of injustice and oppression as a Somali refugee through his own artwork. He performed several spoken word pieces.
The event was sponsored by the Zakat Foundation of America in collaboration with SAFEHR UIC. At the end of the night, the Zakat Foundation of America’s Ifrah Magan discussed the importance of maintaining education through such hard times for Syrians. There were donations collected throughout the night, which went to building schools for Syrian children.
Arts for Humanity #SyriaSpeaks brought light to an issue that we often hide in the back of our minds. The night expressed humanity through many forms of art and made a contribution and change to the lives of others.