MFA Lauds Malala's Appeal for Syrian War Victims
New York, N.Y. July 15, 2015…As the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees meets with congressional leaders to discuss the worsening Syrian refugee crisis, it lauded Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai for her bold words and actions to help Syrian war victims. “We applaud Malala for bringing crucial attention to the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st Century,” Dr. Georgette Bennett, founder of the Multifaith Alliance, said in a statement. “As the conditions for millions of Syrian refugees and displaced people grow more dire, most of the victims are traumatized women and children—many of whom are scattered in urban areas without access to basic services. We join Malala’s call to world leaders: They must mobilize, focus to find a solution, and put an end to the death and destruction now.” In meetings on Capitol Hill today, MFA, a project of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, is calling for the U.S. government to accelerate and increase the resettlement of Syrian refugees in U.S. cities as part of a revitalization plan, and to immediately establish and enforce humanitarian safe zones in Syria. Malala, who last year became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in history, celebrated her 18th birthday this week by announcing a new education program to help Syrian refugee children at the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan. At the same time, she called on world leaders to stop “failing” the people of Syria: “On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world—you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria’s children,” she said. “This is a heartbreaking tragedy—the world’s worst refugee crisis in decades.” Malala became an international figure at the age of 14 when she was shot in the head by the Taliban in October 2012 while campaigning for girls’ rights to education. The Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees (MFA), a project of Tanenbaum, is the United States’ leading interfaith response to the Syrian refugee crisis. We support organizations that deliver direct humanitarian aid to Syrian war victims today, while planting the seeds for future stability in the region. All MFA activities are based at Tanenbaum, except funding for humanitarian aid, which is distributed through JDC. Contact: Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg eric.greenberg@multifaithalliance.org Mobile: 917 447 2007
