ON THE COVER
Courtesy Photo
A Syrian child from Aleppo holds up a sign thanking Fayetteville’s Bridge of Peace Syria for doing a relay fast to raise money to be sent for food and general goods for the Syrians who are besieged in Aleppo.
For three weeks, a Fayetteville Syrian-aid organization raised more than $10,000 with locally sourced donations by doing a relay fast to raise awareness for the people stuck in the besieged city of Aleppo, Syria.
Twenty-two people in the Northwest Arkansas region participated in a relay fast — where fasting is passed from one volunteer to the next ever three to four days — and about 110 people made donations to the cause, most of which were less than $100, and a few were several hundreds of dollars. With a portion of the money raised, 2,000 kilos of onions, eggplants, zucchini bread and fuel were able to be bought and shared with 100 families, which had to be carefully distributed. More shipments of the money are in the process of being sent overseas for families to buy any necessities they are able to get.
Bridge of Peace Syria, which is based in Fayetteville, organized the effort.
The U.S. non-profit, tax-exempt humanitarian aid organization is locally operated by retired couple Moshe and Hamsa Newmark and a volunteer board of directors who are dedicated to providing material support to help children, women and families who have been displaced by the war in Syria and have little or no access to food, water, clothing, shelter, fuel for heating, education and other life essentials.
Nearly 100 percent of all donations to Bridge of Peace are given directly to refugees in Syria, Moshe said.
“A lot of people care, they just don’t know what to do,” Hamsa said. “Governments don’t care, but people do. With Bridge of Peace Syria, we fill that gap. We’ll show you where your money went. We’re completely transparent. Every time we get money we post on Facebook what we did with it.”
Courtesy Photos
Twenty-two people, some of whom are seen above, participated in a relay fast to raise awareness for the war-torn, besieged city of Aleppo Syria. During its three week run, more than $10,000 were raised, which is in the process of being distributed to refugee families through Bridge of Peace Syria, a locally ran humanitarian organization.
Nearly daily since 2012, Aleppo has been caught in the crossfire of the Syrian conflict, where bomb raids and chemical gas attacks in rebel-held areas by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave buildings in ruin and droves of civilians dead or injured. Recently, a ceasefire from Sept. 12 was thwarted Monday, Sept. 19, when an airstrike on an United Nations aid convoy was destroyed and killed more than 20 people. Such is the grim reality the people of Aleppo face.
After several sleepless nights thinking about the state of Aleppo, Hamsa decided to offer her support in solidarity with a relay fast. She started with just the faith that others would join her during her awareness campaign. This was her third fast for the cause.
“I learned what it feels like to be hungry,” Hamsa said. “The first thing I learned was how much time we spend thinking about food, eating food and throwing away food. I was so amazed when food was not in my picture, and that it opened all of this space and time. I deprived myself for nine days to get the experience. You don’t sleep well, and you wake up early.”
Fasting is symbolic of what the people of Aleppo face, Hamsa said.
“I think to use a fast as an inspiration to other people to either do the same or make a donation is a powerful tool that brings reflection,” Hamsa said. “It made me even more dedicated to continue our work with the Syrian refugees and their children. I’ve heard from them, they have to make up stories to their children about when they’ll be able to eat to appease them.”
Courtesy Photos
Twenty-two people, some of whom are seen above, participated in a relay fast to raise awareness for the war-torn, besieged city of Aleppo Syria. During its three week run, more than $10,000 were raised, which is in the process of being distributed to refugee families through Bridge of Peace Syria, a locally ran humanitarian organization.
A week following the fast relay, Rebecca Buchanan of Winslow, Ark. said she felt inspired to keep it going.
“I can not imagine, not for a second, what it would be like if our family was in the middle of Syria now,” she said. “Bless those who are enduring the bombing, starvation, thirst, and fear. The least I can do is give (money) and miss a few cups of coffee and plates overflowing with food.”
Bridge of Peace Syria operates discreetly with trusted humanitarians overseas who assist in handling the money and distributing it to where its needed. In late 2015, Bridge of Peace Syria raised enough funds to rehabilitate a refugee camp’s defunct well to provide access to free, clean water for 1500 people. Throughout 2016, 14 one-room homes were built, in addition to a school.
The organization was founded in 1987 as Puente de Paz (Bridge of Peace, translated from Spanish) to provide aid to the thousands of displaced people in Nicaragua during the Contra War crisis. Puente de Paz financed and helped supervise the building of potable water systems, water testing programs with bacteria-free hand pump installations, a widespread vaccine immunization program and the building of a school, according to the organization’s website.
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A group of children in Aleppo, Syria hold up signs that read, “Bridge of Peace Syria Aleppo,” to show their thanks to the Bridge of Peace Syria organization’s aid efforts.
When the genocidal war in Syria began in 2011, the group turned their efforts to provide humanitarian aid to war refugees in Syria and Turkey, working remotely with Tamer Altaiar, their director of Middle East operations.
If interested in donating or contacting the Newmarks and Bridge of Peace Syria, you can contact them at bridgeofpeacesyria@gmail.com or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bridgeofpeacesyria.
“The feeling of compassion is an amazing human experience,” Hamsa said. “You realize your heart is so big. The love in your heart is infinite. This kind of work connects you with that sort of feeling. It makes you feel very human and fragile. That’s why I fast.”
