This weekend Edmontonians braved the cold and joined hundreds of other Canadians in supporting the people of Syria.
Among them was former St. Albert resident Melanie McMillan. Inspired by similar events in Montreal and Vancouver earlier last week, McMillan helped organize the rally held at the steps of the Alberta Legislature Sunday morning.
While other protesters called for the end of Russian intervention in Syria, McMillan said her main goals were to show solidarity and call on the government to do more in support of Syrians fleeing the war-torn country.
“For me, my number one goal was to say we recognize that this is happening, we’re not just standing by and turning our heads away. We see this, we are saddened and we are bothered,” said McMillan.
She said the international community has failed to protect Syrians and is asking the federal government to provide more funds for humanitarian relief on the ground, as well as increase Canada’s resettlement efforts.
The Canadian government has supported almost fifty humanitarian projects since the political unrest against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime ended in violence in 2011.
While other efforts have been undertaken, such as the Syria Emergency Relief fund, which saw the government donate $31.8 million in matching funds, and the resettlement of 35,000 refugees, the majority of Canada’s projects wrapped up last year, despite continuous shellings and air strikes by both parties.
“I know we applaud ourselves here in Canada for 35,000, but maybe we have the capacity to do more,” said McMillan, pointing to smaller countries neighbouring the crisis zone.
The ongoing conflict in Syria has caused one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. The United Nations estimates that more than four million people have fled Syria since 2011, mainly seeking refuge in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. Another 8.7 million are thought to be displaced within the country.
“If these protests can be catalyst for us to move our refugee resettlement and immigration quotas a little bit and allow more refugees to come into the country in the next year, I support that,” she said.
McMillan has been involved in refugee resettlement for many years. While attending the University of Alberta she was involved in a student-led student refugee program that sponsored young refugees and allowed them to pursue higher education in Canada.
