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Will Arscott PHF
Stories
ROTATELLER
MEETING RECAP - 7th November 2017
 
Submitted by Will Arscott
 
Finding Humanity in the Syrian Refugee Crises
 
This was a special five club Meeting of Saskatoon Rotary, the North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA) and the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was presided by Mark Gryba President of the Saskatoon Rotary Club.
 
There was a very good turn out and we were delighted so many non-Rotarians made the effort to attend. This meeting was one of two annual five club meetings of Rotary in Saskatoon. In view of the terrible humanitarian crises in Syria, we decided to open this meeting to the public. We were honoured that the NSBA and the Chamber chose to support and join our luncheon.
 
President Mark began by reminding us that we were on Treaty Six land and the land of the Metis. He welcomed all to the meeting. He announced the purpose of the meeting was to educate people in Saskatoon about the scope of the humanitarian crises in Syria and the work of the Red Cross in dealing with the crises.
 
Mark spoke very briefly about the five Rotary clubs in Saskatoon. The banners of the five clubs were on display. Mark pointed out that if attendees wanted to know more about Rotary and our work both locally and internationally that there were cards on the tables. These cards gave the meeting times for all five clubs and contact information. Obviously, Rotarians believe Rotary is an important force for good in the world.
 
Mark acknowledged the presence of several special guests:
His Worship Mayor Charlie Clark
City Councillor: Cynthia Block, Randy Donauer and Marin Loewen
MLA Gordon Wyant
CEO of the NSBA Keith Moen
The Red Cross was represented by Cindy Fuchs Vice President in Saskatchewan for the Canadian Red Cross.
Our special guest was Breanne England, head of the Middle East and North Africa region of the Canadian Red Cross. She was our guest speaker and was more fully introduced later in the program.
President Mark also acknowledged the presence of a Syrian Refugee family who are now Saskatoon Residents. He also recognized the extended Nasser family.
 
As is traditional at Rotary meetings, we began by singing O Canada. The anthem was led a capella by Ellen Nasser Thorn.
 
Grace was led by Saskatoon Rotarian Al Morton who recognized a God of each individual’s understanding. Al’s grace took note of the Syrian situation and recognized all humans as our brethren. He pointed out that we need to approach this situation with an attitude of gratefulness for all that we have. Al asked that God aid the Red Cross in their efforts and to help Rotary to make a difference in the world. The help of all of us is required to make this happen.
 
President Mark Called upon Mayor Charlie Clark to bring greetings from the City of Saskatoon
The mayor also recognized we are on Treaty Six and Metis land. The mayor spoke of his pride at having approximately 600 Syrian refugees living in Saskatoon. The work of Saskatoon churches has been central to making this happen. [Given the rhetoric we too often hear from other jurisdictions, it is with great pride we recognize the support of government in welcoming refugees in Saskatoon and Canada.]
 
President Mark then called upon Saskatoon North Rotarian Brenda Banbury to briefly talk about Polio Plus. The eradication of polio from the world has been Rotary International’s signature project since 1985. The project is now called Polio Plus because it deals with immunizations beyond just stopping polio. There are only two countries in the world that are not polio free - Pakistan and Afghanistan. Syria was declared polio free in 2010. Rotary has been aided in its efforts by The World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, UNICEF and most recently, and generously, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
 
While polio efforts in Syria have been successful, this is not the time for complacency. Polio thrives in situations where there is a breakdown in health infrastructure. Lack of government and civil authority also contributes to the problem. Polio is spread through contact with feces so if there is a breakdown in civil infrastructure the area is at risk for a new spread of polio. The situation in Syria is dread in all these aspects. It is most important we re-double our efforts to continue immunization programs. It is important to maintain the herd immunity. The vaccine used in Syria is based on a weakened polio virus. This version leads to a small number of polio cases caused by vaccination. If the population is not well immunized there is the possibility these cases can move through the population with the virus mutating and becoming virulent. Syria is a very challenging place to run a vaccination program due to lack of security.
 
Mark gave out a special thanks to Saskatoon Rotarian Jack Brodsky who had been originally contacted by Kay Nasser about holding this event. Jack has worked tirelessly to make it happen. He got the NSBA and Chamber involved. Thanks, Jack!
 
President Mark explained that this was primarily an educational rather than a fund-raising event. The ticket price was set to cover the venue and the meal. People’s financial support would be most welcome. There are three ways you can contribute: First, there were envelopes on the table. Second, there were Red Cross Volunteers at the back of the room that could manage cheques or credit cards. Finally, there is a website you can visit to make your donation:
 
Mark further announced that the Nasser family would be matching all donations made up to $100,000. Please consider what you can do.
 
Our guest speaker, Breanne England, was introduced by President Mark:
 
Breanne England is the Head of Region, Middle East and North Africa, for the Canadian Red Cross. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and operational management to the Canadian Red Cross in these regions. This includes the CRC’s response to the crises in Syria as well as humanitarian responses in the West Bank and Gaza. In addition to her regular travels to the Middle East, Breanne has completed missions to more than 10 countries including Pakistan, Ethiopia, Philippines, Uganda and Haiti.
 
Breanne first joined the Red Cross in 2006 as a disaster management and humanitarian issues volunteer and has been part of CRC’s International Operations team since 2010. Previously, Breanne worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and with NGOs focused on refugee reform.
 
Breanne hold a Masters degree in Human Security and Peace Building from Royal Roads University, a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and International Studies from the University of New Brunswick and a diploma in International Humanitarian Law from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
 
Breanne England began by thanking us for providing her the chance to share. She first visited Syria in January 2013 in the wet and cold. She encountered refugees receiving very basic support. It was assumed this would be a situation that would be short-lived but it has expanded ever since and has grown much worse. To date seven million people have been displaced. One third of all Syrians are refugees. The impact of the crises extends well beyond Syria. Lebanon, a country of only four million, has taken in one million refugees. The situation is serious in Turkey with a large influx of refugees. Canada’s commitment to take in 25,000 is welcome but small compared to the problem. There are about 250,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey alone which is 10% of Syria. The numbers are important but so are the faces and the names of the people caught in this human tragedy. Breanne shared four stories:
 
- She met a 73 year old man who had once had comfortable life but now everything was lost including many family members. He was living in a camp in a damaged tent. He only wished to go home.
 
- There was a woman from the city of Homs which has now been reduced to rubble. She is now a widow with two children. The children do not have birth certificates because of the breakdown in civic services. She cannot even prove these children exist making it impossible to send them to school or obtain relief services for them. How does a child prove they exist?
 
- The area around Aleppo has experienced some of the fiercest fighting. Outside the city Breanne toured a field hospital that had been hit by rockets. The medical staff had tried to cope by moving the surgery and the ICU unites into the basement. The building is just a shell strewn with medical records and expired medications. Lack of power makes keeping medications impossible.
 
- She met a family of five that had lived in a partitioned portion of a school classroom for the past five years. They considered themselves lucky.
 
Humanitarian aid saves lives. The Syrian Red Crescent has worked for the past seven years to support seven million people. They need shelter, food, safe water and medical care. The Canadian Red Cross works to support the Syrian Red Crescent. As time has gone on, there has been a need to address acute malnutrition which was not a problem in Syria before the troubles. The malnourished children and mothers will recover if consistent aid can reach them. A particular problem is obtaining consistent medications for chronic disease such as asthma or diabetes.
 
This is made worse by route closures making much of the country inaccessible much of the time. It can take months to negotiate access and once negotiated it may not be recognized or may end at any time for seemingly any reason. Organizing deliveries in a conflict zone is difficult and dangerous. Negotiation requires building trust and relationships. The Red Crescent has a good reputation as an honest broker. It is often necessary to put a priority on just keeping people calm. To date, 73 Red Crescent workers have been killed in the Syrian conflict. All the workers have their own harrowing stories and just have to accept the conditions as normal.
 
Help is also needed in Lebanon to support both the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese themselves. It is the same situation in Turkey. The need goes beyond basic humanitarian needs and extends to language and vocational training.
 
In the end humanitarian aid is only a stop gap. A political solution must be found. There is no real solution in the short-term. This can make it difficult to maintain hope as the Syrian conflict drops from the top of the news cycle. Resources are depleted as are the coping skills of the workers. Breanne assured us that the workers in Syria were aware of this luncheon in Saskatoon. Breanne thanked the donors. In the end much more help is needed and it is needed now.
 
Breanne was thanked by President Mark. As is the custom in our club a donation will be made for the speaker. In this case we will make a donation to the Red Cross.
 
Following his thank you, Mark invited Karim Nasser to say a few words. Karim is from Lebanon but has taken an interest in the Syrian situation for many years. Karim described how the men from his own family went to Syria to work as stone masons for several months during the year. As a child he remembers the happiness at their return and the candied treats they brought back for the children.
 
Karim asked for soft hearts towards Syria. He also thanked his wife Dora. It is well known that Dora has been Karim’s strength over many years. He thank his own good fortune and the excellent education he has enjoyed at great schools including the University of Saskatchewan. He affirmed his pledge to match the first $100,000 in giving. Karim’s matching donations stands through to the end of 2017. He also made three immediate gifts of $10,000 to the Red Cross, $5,00 to the Global Gathering Place, $5,00 to the Open Door Society of Saskatoon. The generosity of Karim and the Nassar family is well known and appreciated in Saskatoon. Before finishing with a poem, Karim gave special thanks to Jack Brodsky for his help in organizing the event. He also thanked his son for his help making this event happen.
 
Karim Nasser finished with this poem:
 
WE ARE ONE WORLD
 
We are one world, one single world,
Love, makes something, from everything,
But Nothing, comes from nothing,
Dieu is one, seul, we can tell,
God, is greatest, now and forever,
The world is round, all around,
We care, we give, and we share,
God said, you be fair, truly fair,
AMEN, SHALOM, WASSALAMO ALEIKOM.
 
If you have a soft heart towards Syria you can help out at:
 
 
Adjournment
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The Five Club Meeting