Members of the University of Liverpool Amnesty International group held a vigil outside Lime Street Station this week to mark the third anniversary of the Syria uprising.
The vigil, which also featured people from the Friends of Palestine group, Liverpool Feminist society, as well as a number of other groups, was part of a string of ‘#withsyria’ events around the world.
Joanne Hiley, co-runner of the University of Liverpool students Amnesty group, told JMU Journalism: “We’re here today specifically for Syria. We want to draw the fact that it’s been three years since the conflict started, we don’t want to be here marking another anniversary.
“We want to show how bad the humanitarian crisis is. There are so many refugees who don’t have access to water, food or any medicines. More needs to be done about it, as these are the most basic human rights violations.”
The events were organised by a coalition of human rights and humanitarian organisations, including Amnesty, Oxfam, Save the Children and Christian Aid, to show solidarity with the people of Syria three years since the conflict began, in March 2011.
Grace Davenport, member of University of Liverpool Amnesty Group, told JMU Journalism: “We haven’t forgotten, three years has gone incredibly quickly and it’s slipped out of public consciousness. It is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today. That is staggering to say that it’s not really in the news, it’s certainly not prominent.
“We understand that there are other tragedies, but for us this is one of the most important things and it really needs to be remembered. It’s not over, it’s far from over.”
As well as a number of vigils being held around the world, a famous Banksy piece of artwork, a young girl holding a red balloon and floating upwards, has been animated and was projected on international landmarks to show the support for the people of Syria.
At many vigils, red balloons were released simultaneously in public squares around the world.