Symposium Explores Syrian Conflict
This year’s Robbins Memorial Symposium, centered on the Syrian Civil War and refugee crisis, began Sunday with a performance by a spoken word artist, followed by a panel discussion on Tuesday. It will continue with another panel tonight and an Assembly speaker on Friday.
The Robbins Memorial Symposium was organized jointly by the History Department, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Robbins Memorial Fund, the Irving Fund and the Middle East and North Africa Society.
Syrian-American hip-hop and spoken word artist Omar Offendum performed and spoke with students Sunday. Offendum’s music and poetry combines the English and Arabic languages. By integrating both parts of his identity, he said he hoped to reveal the beauty that he sees in Arabic.
“Media is often broad and desensitized because we’re so far away, but hearing those stories about the actual people living this helped me see why this is such a big issue.”
Offendum described Arabic as a contextual language that is rooted in a primordial and basic understanding of life and humanity. “One of the things I’ve heard people say often, which I believe is true, is that you’re able to describe certain feelings and experiences in Arabic with a multitude of different words, while on the flip side you can describe so much meaning with just one word,” he said.
After his performance, Offendum spoke more directly about the relationship between his projects and the Syrian War. When the push for a revolution emerged, his work centered around the hope for progressive change. His content changed as the revolution and stories he’d heard about started to shift, developing into a war. “[My mother], like anybody, would have wanted good change, but she was more skeptical. At the same time, everybody was a little bit intoxicated by the whole idea of a revolution,” he said.
Offendum’s performance was well received. Attendees especially lauded his compelling and successful use of Arabic in the performance.
“I really loved how he would speak and sing in Arabic. I think it’s really important to break the stigma that Arabic is a terrorist language and should spark fear. He showed how beautiful and loving it really is,” lower Milena DeGuere said.
The panel held on Tuesday, titled “The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Panel Discussion,” focused specifically on the situation that Syrian refugees have been placed in and the effect of the crisis on neighboring countries, governments and on the refugees themselves. The discussion was moderated by instructor of history emeritus Andrew Hertig. Members of the panel were Alexandra Chen, a child psychotherapist specializing in trauma, Dr. Melinda Negron-Gonzales, professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire and Liza Williams, a Ph.D. candidate in political theory and international relations at Brown University. The panel began with presentations from each of the panelists before they answered questions from the audience.
Chen spoke about the severity of the trauma refugee children suffer. Using specific examples of children she had met, she detailed the effects of undergoing intense sexual, verbal, emotional and physical abuse. She also touched on the cyclic effect this abuse has as it pushes victims to violence. She stressed the severity of the Syrian situation. “This is the greatest humanitarian crisis in our age,” she said.
Negron-Gonzales focused on the effect of the Syrian refugee crisis on the Turkish government. Turkey currently shelters the most refugees of any country in the world, but does not have the infrastructure or resources to support them. She explained that the influx of refugees into Syria is too great for the Turkish government to build housing for Syrian refugees or provide adequate healthcare. She also spoke about the legal status of refugees in Turkey, as Syrian refugees have different status than Iraqi ones.
Williams addressed the effect of the refugee crisis on the Schengen zone and the greater E.U. She spoke of the ethical quandary faced by democratic nations as they question their responsibility to aid the people of Syria. She explained that many displaced people are not legally refugees under the Geneva Convention, leaving many Syrians unprotected. She ended by encouraging students to aid refugees by pushing elected leaders to welcome Syrian refugees, volunteer for NGOs and nonprofits and by being hospitable to Syrian refugees as they enter the United States.
The panel was well received by the Exeter community. Chen’s presentation in particular appeared to have a grounding effect. “I realized how great my life is,” upper Julia Friberg said. DeGuere said the panel further humanized the Syrian crisis and expanded her understanding of the issue. “Media is often broad and desensitized because we’re so far away, but hearing those stories about the actual people living this helped me see why this is such a big issue,” she said.
Planning committee members said they hoped the program would raise awareness on the Syrian Crisis and push students towards action. “My hope is that our students have an opportunity not only to learn about what is happening in Syria but also to learn about the roles that they can play in working to make this world a better place,” said Nuri Friedlander, religion instructor and member of the planning committee.
Hertig expressed a similar sentiment, emphasizing the importance of a shared understanding of the Syrian conflict. “I hope students gain a better understanding of what seems to me a complicated, puzzling conflict which is extremely important but for which there are no easy solutions,” he said.
They also said they hoped to further humanize the issue and reduce the stigma surrounding Syrian refugees in the United States. “The committee for Syria week wishes to combat the dehumanization of those suffering at the hands of the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time,” said upper Ali Hassani, co-head of the Middle East and Northern Africa Society and member of the planning committee. Going forward, the committee hopes the Exeter community will take action to aid Syrian refugees and maintain focus and interest. “We should care about what is going on in Syria because it has global implications, but also because whenever human suffering of this magnitude occurs, it demands our attention,” said Friedlander.
Tonight’s panel, titled “The Syrian Civil War, ISIS and the Displaced” will further the discussion on campus surrounding the effects of war in Syria. The panel will be moderated by Professor Tarek Masoud of Harvard University and will feature Robert Ford, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Syria from 2010 to 2014, Lina Sergie Attar, founder of the Karam Foundation and Hertig. Masoud will also be giving an assembly on Friday.
Hassani expanded on the importance of awareness and the potential for change that comes with it. He said, “I believe that as more people become educated on the conflict and the geopolitics that play into it, possible solutions will be increasingly feasible. The Middle East is in tatters at the moment, and we as Exonians should take note.”