Marawi youths raise fund for war victims in Aleppo

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Dec. 21 (PIA) --- More than a thousand Muslim youths coming from the cities of Marawi City, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro joined in the Aleppo fund-raising and awareness campaign activity held in Dimaporo Gymnasium in Mindanao State University (MSU) Marawi Campus on December 18. 

The fund-raising activity was sparked by one single chat via Facebook last week after tweets from Aleppo trended in social media that civilians trapped in the eastern part of the Syrian city were indiscriminately murdered by the Assad regime, said organizer Mohammad Aiman Langlang. 

The youths collected cash donations and held garage sale. Similar activities were held in Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Zamboanga. 

Youth leader Mohammad Jamal Batugan said that the proceeds will go to One Solid Ummah which is a non-profit organization that gives humanitarian aid to Syrian war victims and refugees. 

One solid Umma neither supports the rebels nor the Assad regime, he said. 

The organizers have already collected P46,000 in cash from Marawi and P60,000 from Davao city. 

The gathering also featured discussions from Sheik Abu Annas Angni on the conflict in Syria and Dr. Hamid Barra, who provided an in-depth analysis on the situation and how it affects the world at large. 

The gathering concluded with a prayer for the safety and well-being of the civilians in Aleppo.​ (Sittie Ayeesha Dicali/PIA Lanao del Sur)