Syria: 360° of destruction #ImagineBelfast

| Readers 207

After five years of war and against all the odds, civil society still survives inside Syria.

Unsurprisingly, a key priority for activists is to document the impact of the war on civilians and to appeal for help from the international community.

Since early 2011, Amnesty has been working closely with Syrian media activists to help them do just this. Following training and new equipment, they’ve helped us collect 360° photography to document the devastation caused by barrel bombing on cities across Syria. Their brave work brings us into the heart of devastated cities and a step closer to holding the perpetrators of these atrocities to account.

Some of this work is now presented on a remarkable virtual reality website – 360Syria – narrated by renowned Syrian activist and blogger, Razan Ghazzawi. It’s worth clicking through to the site. You can immerse yourself in the scenes and sounds from Syria, get a 360° picture of life for ordinary people in Syria, as well as video footage showing a barrel bomb crashing to earth and the rescue of a ‘miracle baby’ from a bombed-out building in Aleppo.

[vimeo 157582257 w=500 h=281]

This documentary work now forms part of a body of evidence of human rights abuses, as well as providing a message of hope for the future.

The work of these Syrian activists fits with that of Amnesty. Our campaigning has an immediate focus on the need to prevent human rights abuses, ensuring accountability, demanding freedom for detained activists, urging Europe’s leaders to welcome more Syrian refugees and amplifying calls for increased humanitarian assistance and access. This reactive work sits within our long-term focus on a human rights vision for a new Syria in transition, with a healthy civil society at its heart.

PoliticsQuizlogoThe Great Big Politics Quiz, being held in The Black Box in Belfast on Friday evening as part of the Imagine Festival, will raise funds to support this and other work on Syria. Tickets available to book now.

Discover more from Slugger O'Toole

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Recent posts

Frank Schnittger

Slugger 2024 end of year review and the prospects for 2025

Obelisk

Right of Reply

Brian O'Neill

The Department for Infrastructure might want to consider constructive engagement with the Department for Infrastructure…

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated. 

Give a monthly donation Give a one-off donation