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Syria at a crossroads lecture tonight

By Samantha Brunn, The Miami Student

Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, the Center for American and World Cultures will host a lecture featuring Jonathan Shannon, associate professor of anthropology at Hunter College in New York.

Shannon's lecture,"Syrian Migrants in Istanbul: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay," will take place in Dolibois Rooms B and C in the Shriver Center from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Mary Jane Berman, director of the Center for American and World Cultures, believes the Syrian refugee crisis is a grave concern to the global community as a whole and hopes the event will educate Miami students on the impact of the "near genocidal conditions of the crisis."

"I think we've all been very troubled by the news and the images that have been coming out of Syria, as well as the areas where people are trying to flee, and I work very closely with an advisory council who makes recommendations about the kinds of programs we offer here at the center," Berman said. "One of the suggestions that came up pretty powerfully last winter was the need to educate the Miami University community about what is going on in Syria."

John P. R. Schaefer, assistant professor of anthropology at Miami University Middletown and member of the Refugee Action Committee there, is also involved in putting together the lecture series.

" Since 9/11, but especially since 2011-2012 with the Arab Spring, Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. have faced tremendously escalated scrutiny and racialization.," said Schaefer. "A lot of this is political, but it is also fact, so we are just responding to that."

Berman feels it is important for people to understand the plight of the Syrian refugees.

"It would be irresponsible of us to not look at the plight of these people," Berman said.

Schaefer thinks Shannon is the ideal candidate to best demonstrate to the Miami community not only the sadness experienced by the people of Syria but their resilience in the face of the crisis as well.

"He's one of those people who has spent years and years studying Aleppo. He knows it like the back of his hand," said Schaefer. "I thought if someone can do both, if someone can speak to the pain and loss of seeing the city you love bombed into oblivion, while at the same time speak to the resilience of the Syrian spirit and their love for beauty, Jonathan can."

Mary Shoufan, a Syrian graduate student of Miami, is excited to have the attention placed upon her homeland and its current struggle.

"An event like this is addressing an issue about the place where I came from, so that means a lot to me." said Shoufan. "I will always be curious about what people are saying about the area and why they feel the need to finally address what's been going on."

The hope is that the three part lecture series will help the Miami community see the refugees as integral contributors to the global community before immediately victimizing them due to the inhumane circumstances they have experienced.

"People have a very bad image of [the refugee crisis] as people coming out of the sea, dirty, in bad condition health-wise and mentally." said Shoufan. "Lots of these people are very educated, lots of these people are doctors, engineers, students... The only solution is to risk their lives and their families' lives and go through the sea. They wouldn't do it if it wasn't the only option."

Additionally, Shoufan said, "Syrian refugees, or any refugees, should not be treated as animals. They have dreams, they have hopes, they have ambitions. It's not a matter of giving them a chance at life in solely a physical way. It's a matter of giving them life in its full meaning."

When asked how students and members of the community can better understand the refugee crisis, Shoufan said, "You can't really get it until you live it... I don't really believe the news, because most of it is lies. In my opinion, and from my own experience, the best way to know what's going on in any place is to talk to a native person."

Students and community members have a chance to join the conversation by attending the first lecture in the series on Tuesday.