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Ordinary Civilians, Extraordinary Acts: Syrian Responses to Mass Atrocities

Public Program
A member of the White Helmets rescues a child from the rubble of a bombed building. Courtesy of the White Helmets

A member of the White Helmets rescues a child from the rubble of a bombed building. Courtesy of the White Helmets

Twelve years after the start of the Syrian crisis, civilians continue to suffer mass atrocities. Areas of the country remain under attack by the Syrian government and its allies, and more than 100,000 people have been detained or disappeared. The devastating earthquake of early February struck people in Syria and Turkey who had previously fled mass atrocities. In the case of northwest Syria, the impact and aftermath of the earthquake placed an incredible burden on civil society actors to scramble to the rescue—the same groups who for years have rescued victims of mass atrocities.

Join the Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide for a conversation with Syrian civil society leaders who are spearheading the charge to protect civilians and hold perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable. Experts will discuss how Syrians, especially Syrian women, are responding to mass atrocities today, and how the world can best support them.

Remarks
Alfred Münzer, Holocaust Survivor and Volunteer, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Senator James Risch, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Representative French Hill, House Foreign Affairs Committee

Ethan Goldrich, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, United States Department of State

Ambassador (Ret.) Stephen Rapp, Former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, United States Department of State

Additional Members of Congress to be confirmed.

Panel Discussion
Mayson Almisri, Syria Civil Defence (The White Helmets)

Natasha Hall, Senior Fellow, Middle East Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Celine Kassem, Media Coordinator, Syrian Emergency Task Force

Naomi Kikoler, Director, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

This program is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

For more information, please contact genocideprevention@ushmm.org.

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