Last night I tucked my children into bed, and, as soon as they were both asleep, I rushed out of their room to do things like empty the dishwasher and fold a mountain of laundry and e-mail some school mums about an upcoming playdate.
I swore under my breath over my toy-strewn floor and the bathroom I have been trying to find time to clean for close to a week now.
And then I sat down and watched the news and suddenly my stupid, ridiculous worries over messy floors and grimy bathroom mirrors seemed so pointless. So entitled. So, so minuscule.
Because I just saw a man clutch his dead twin babies. I saw Abdulhamid al-Youssef sob as he clutched the bodies of nine-month-old Ahmad and Aya, who, alongside their mum, Abdulhamid’s wife, was killed Tuesday morning in a chemical attack on the Syrian city of Khan Sheikhoun. An attack which also killed 16 other members of Abdulhamid’s family.
Yesterday he had to bury them all in an unmarked mass grave.
According to news reports, it is still unclear who is behind this most recent attack in the war-torn country. According to Idlib governorate’s medical authority, the death toll from the attack has already reached 86, 30 of whom were children – a number which is expected to rise as many are believed to have died in their homes and their bodies yet to be taken to the hospitals to be counted.
As we here in Ireland, and most of the Western world, are preparing for Easter holidays, gathering family and friends around tables full of food and drink in our safe, warm homes, mothers, children and entire families are being slaughtered in Syria.
It is hard to try and grasp the complete terror that is unfolding in this country not all that far from us here in safe, comfortable Europe. The complete meltdown of humanity that is happening – whether we watch the news or turn it off in an attempt to shield ourselves from it.
But heartbreaking as it is, we need to open our eyes and we need to look beyond our own families and blessings and comforts because right now, our attention and care and also money are so desperately needed elsewhere.
Because, at the root of it, I am not just Nahla and Luca’s mama, and you are not just Jack’s mum or Sophie’s mum or Saoirse’s mum. We are all, every single one of us, so deeply connected by the common thread that is motherhood.
It can be hard to see or remember or even have the time to think about at times, but it is there. The incredible gift it is to bring children into this world and raise them to be good humans connects us all, whether we are sisters, friends or complete strangers in a country across the globe. We have to look out for each other, and speak up, especially at times where some cannot help themselves or their children.
This week, today, our thoughts and help and hearts are needed in Syria, and here are five easy ways you and I can help right now:
1. Support the White Helmets
This homegrown search-and-rescue force, which operates in rebel-controlled Syria, including Aleppo, has saved tens of thousands of their countrymen over the course of the conflict — pulling bombing victims out of the rubble, raising money for prosthetics, and supporting the families of fallen comrades.
You can donate on their website.
2. Support Doctors Without Borders
The global, nonpartisan medical relief organisation is still active on the ground across the country, providing local medical facilities, which have been decimated by the war, with equipment, supplies, and, where possible, personnel.
You can give them money here.
3. Support Save the Children
Save the Children works with internally displaced and refugee children and families affected by the conflict.
You can read more about what they’re doing and pledge support here.
4. Support the UN Refugee Agency
The most compassionate thing we can do is to put aside our fears of terror and the unfamiliar and give them a chance to rebuild their lives among us. And to give those who still suffer on the ground hope that there’s a better life available to them, should they manage to escape.
Make a donation to the UN Refugee Agency here
5. Speak Up
Unhappy with how politicians, government, those who make decisions do something about this enormous humanitarian crisis? Speak up. Go to a protest. Organise one. Write letters. Donate money. Share what you have seen on the news. It is time to put apathy aside, because, at the end of the day, humanity depend on all of us now.
(Feature image via Doctors Withour Borders)
