NSU Pharmacy Students and Faculty Participate in Walk for Children of Syria

Approximately 41 Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy (COP) students and faculty members participated in a national walk on Sept. 8 to raise awareness and money for Syrian children who have been impacted by the recent conflict in that country. Called a “Walk for Children of Syria”, the two-hour event at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami was organized by COP Assistant Professor Mutasem Rawas-Qalaji, Ph.D. Approximately 400-500 people participated in the Miami walk and more than10,000 people participated in similar walks in 19 cities across the United States.

The autocratic regime of Bashar al-Assad launched a 16-month crackdown in an effort to suppress an uprising for freedom, dignity and democracy. More than 1,800 children died during this period, forcing more than one hundred thousand families to flee their homes seeking safety in neighboring countries. Hence, thousands of children in Syria became victims of the indiscriminate attacks that characterized the crackdown. Some estimates put the number of internally displaced at more than one million. Escalating violence against civilians in Syria has forced thousands of children to live in refugee camps surrounded by barbed-wire fences. Since March 2011, more than 20,000 people have been killed including more than 1,000 children.