Press Release: Multifaith Alliance Decries Death of 3-Year-Old Syrian; Calls for Emergency Global Ac
Contact: Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg
eric.greenberg@multifaithalliance.org
Mobile: 917 447 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MULTIFAITH ALLIANCE DECRIES DEATH OF 3-YEAR-OLD SYRIAN;
CALLS FOR EMERGENCY GLOBAL ACTION TO RESETTLE WAR VICTIMS
New York, N.Y. Sept. 4, 2015 - In response to the tragic drowning death—captured in photos—of a 3-year-old Syrian toddler trying to escape war-torn Syria, the Multifaith Alliance is calling for world leaders to immediately implement a global emergency plan to resettle millions of Syrian war victims.
“The heartbreaking photos of Aylan are a devastating symbol of the utter failure of the world community to respond to this humanitarian disaster,” said Dr. Georgette Bennett, founder of the Multifaith Alliance, the nation’s leading interfaith response to the Syrian crisis. “This is a global wake-up call.”
Bennett called for the European Union, the United States, and the global community to immediately declare a global emergency and revamp current government rules and regulations to allow greater numbers of Syrian to be resettled.
“We must accelerate resettlement and allocate more resources to speed up security screening, without compromising security admissions criteria,” she said in a statement. “Governments must also dramatically increase cooperation with NGOS and local humanitarian organizations, where they can effectively assist in quicker resettlement.”
MFA also called on religious leaders to raise their voices with congregants and with elected officials demanding more action to help resettle the more than 16.2 million Syrian war victims who are displaced inside Syria or have fled the country and are living in devastating poverty.
“While our nation prepares for a holiday weekend, there is no holiday for millions of suffering Syrians,” said Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg, MFA Director of Outreach, Programs, and Interfaith. “We ask that all religious leaders take a few minutes this weekend to raise the dire plight of Syrians in their houses of worship, and then continue to raise it with government leaders in a sustained way. Religious actors and Americans have a responsibility to keep this tragedy front and center.”
The Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees supports organizations that deliver direct humanitarian aid to Syrian war victims today, while planting the seeds for future stability in the region.
MFA activities are a project of Tanenbaum, except funding for humanitarian aid, which is distributed through JDC.
