5 Simple Actions to Help Syria and
Syrian Refugees
1. Advocate
Your voice is essential to calling for safety, security, and dignity for all
refugees. Violence, daily barrel bombings and airstrikes, and lack of
protection have caused over 4 million Syrians to flee their country looking
for safety and hope. And yet - the U.S. has only accepted around 1500
Syrian refugees. Join us and tell the U.S. to open its borders and accept a
fair share of Syrian refugees who desperately seek a return to normalcy.
You can also call your elected officials and the White House to tell them to
work with the UNHCR and all branches of government to expedite the
refugee resettlement process in the U.S.
 Call MA Governor Baker’s office and tell him to not restrict Syrian
refugees’ settlement in MA. Regrettably, he is one of many
governors who are refusing to allow Syrian refugees into their states.
Governor Baker’s office is 617-725-4005.
 Call Congressman McGovern’s office and tell him to vote NO on
H.R. Bill 4038, an effort to suspend the ability of Syrian refugees to
come into the U.S. – 202-225-6101
 Tell President Obama to veto Bill 4038 if it gets to his desk: (202)
456-1111
 Call Senator Markey’s office (202-224-2742) and Senator Warren’s
office (202-224-4543) to keep the U.S. Senate from passing
legislation that restricts the flow of Syrian refugees into the U.S.
2. Call for all countries to accept more refugees
• There are numerous worldwide petitions that you can sign to
pressure governments to accept more refugees and ensure their
safety. Go
to http://support.hias.org/site/PageNavigator/AskthePresidenttoT
akeBoldLeadershipforSyrianRefugees.html
• And https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/authorize-and-resettlesyrian-refugees-us
3. Raise awareness in your community and around the world
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Share pictures, videos, and names of organizations assisting the
refugee response.
Write an op-ed. Reach out to the SAMS Society Coordinator,
Natasha Kieval, atnatasha.kieval@sams-usa.net to receive an
op-ed template and assistance with op-ed media outreach.
Tweet. Use some of the trending hashtags - #RefugeesWelcome,
#ShareHumanity, #OpenToSyria, #AylanKurdi,
#HumanityWashedAshore - to have an even greater reach for your
message.
4. Purchase Soup for Syria
• Soup for Syria is a cookbook project to help raise funds for Syrian
refugees and those who remain inside of Syria. Acclaimed chefs and
cookbook authors, including Yotam Ottlolenghi, Sami Tamimi,
Anthony Bourdain, Mark Bittman, and Alice Waters, have come
together to help food relief efforts to alleviate the suffering of Syrian
refugees. The book is published by Interlink in Northampton.
• The Valley Syrian Relief Committee will be marketing the cookbook,
along with samples of soup, at the Hakhel Sukkot Harvest Festival
on Sunday, October 4th, at Abundance Farm.
• The price of the cookbook is $31.88. For every cookbook sold, $15.00 will
be donated to The Syrian American Medical Society.
5. Work for a Peaceful Settlement to the War
A negotiated peace settlement to the Syrian conflict is critical to addressing
and mitigating the killing of Syrians and exodus from their country. There
are a number of organizations, many of whom are faith-based, that are
working toward a peaceful resolution of the war in Syria. Examples are:
 The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) is a non-profit research
and advocacy organization. USIP has been actively involved in efforts
to end the war in Syria.
 The Church World Service is another non-profit that is working for a
peaceful resolution to the war in Syria. Will Haney is the lead staff
person for that effort – 212-870-2321.
For more information contact: Sara Weinberger: spw128@comcast.net or
413-923-8144