Women’s March Illinois organizers hosted a candlelight vigil in downtown Chicago on April 13 to show solidarity with Syrians who have been displaced or suffered because of the civil war in that country.
Women’s March Illinois organizers hosted a candlelight vigil in downtown Chicago on April 13 to show solidarity with Syrians who have been displaced or suffered because of the civil war in that country.
Now in its seventh year, the war has claimed the lives of 465,000 Syrians, caused over a million to be injured, and forced over 12 million Syrians — half the country’s pre-war population — to be displaced from their homes, according to Al Jazeera.
“We want Syrians to know that we see them, that we stand in solidarity with them,” said Amanda Drenth, logistics coordinator for the Illinois Chapter of the Women’s March on Washington. “This vigil is also about trying to shine a light on humanitarian foundations that are helping them overseas, and to show there are entities here in Illinois working to help refugees that manage to come into the country.”
The Chicago vigil was just one of 59 that were organized across the United States and internationally for the #WomenForSyria Day of Action on April 13. Around 50 people attended the Chicago event.