Justice for Detainees in Syria (JDS) participated in the Syrian Refugee Roundtable event which took place on Tuesday, Nov. 24 in Boston. The event was organized and hosted by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) in collaboration with Congressman Seth Moulton's office. The discussion was about the admission and welcoming of Syrian refugees to Massachusetts.

 

Hiam Altali Francis from JDS was invited to talk about her work especially given the growing tensions towards Syrian refugees. Hiam talked about the importance of educating people about the fact that Syrian refugees fled from violence, bombing, suppression and detention of the regime and foreign extremist armed forces like ISIS. Syrians started a peaceful revolution in 2011 to call for freedom, democracy and the release of political prisoners. But the revolution morphed into a war which caused the displacement of Syrians today.Syrians love their county and it breaks their hearts that they were forced to leave.

 

JDS supports Congressman Seth Moulton's statement on the Bill which intends to block Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS: "shutting the door on Syrian refugees who are fleeing the very terrorists we’re fighting is inconsistent with our values" (Washington DC, 11/20/2015).

After the meeting the participants met with the press; Hiam also spoke to the press, see:

 

http://www.wcvb.com/politics/rep-moulton-meets-with-members-of-syrian-iraqi-community/36641474