Turn your empathy outward: Global conflict warrants more attention

Video footage of the conflict in Syria went viral this past year, providing a real-life complement to the inanimate statistics we read in print. Numbers turned into rows upon rows of child-sized body bags. The footage evoked a range of responses from active support for overseas intervention — humanitarian or otherwise — to passive surrender, to a feeling of powerlessness. For Laila Al-Soulaiman, it wasn’t just matching numbers with distant faces, but recognizable ones. She learned about the death of her 19-year-old cousin from one of those YouTube videos.

In publications from the Post-Gazette to Pop City Media, Al-Soulaiman’s background composed a large portion of the reporting on her public activism projects. Her personal ties with a war-torn country explains her empathy toward the issue. But should people have to have a personal connection to such conflicts to feel the way Al-Soulaiman does? Shouldn’t these videos be enough to provoke people from all backgrounds to experience anger and a sense of solidarity with the victims? As impressive as she may be, Al-Soulaiman’s personal story should pale in comparison to the cause she promotes. By virtue of being human beings, we should all be equally active and morally outraged. 

Narratives in these publications have ranged from “look at what this young woman has accomplished” to “look at this poor girl.” As almost a knee-jerk response, journalists seemed more drawn to her inspiring, overcoming-adversity narrative than to the conflict itself. 

“I’ve become a face of the conflict within Pittsburgh,” said Al-Soulaiman, a Syrian-American and first-year Pitt student, “and I don’t like it at all.” Narratives that celebrate young activists for their 

dedication, while focusing little attention to the cause of raising awareness about the suffering 

in Syria itself, are part of the problem, she said. “People want that sensationalized story, but my story is not out of the ordinary.”

Al-Soulaiman was born in Dubai. Her mother is a Pitt graduate who met her father, a Syrian native, while visiting the United Arab Emirates. Her paternal family currently resides in Daraa, Syria, where the revolution started.

Her activism makes her stand out, but the death and suffering of her extended family is no different than that of the hundreds of thousands of civilians under Syran President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Since the conflict began in March 2011, Al-Soulaiman has lost 18 of her family members.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported on Oct. 1 that the death toll in the ongoing civil war is estimated to be about 115,000. The actual count, according to Al-Soulaiman, is likely much higher. “They can’t find the bodies,” she said, “but nobody wants to say that.”

Hard news such as the conflict in Syria is often juxtaposed with Miley Cyrus critiques and YouTube videos of cats, the latter of which seems to be more popular. Just take a look at the follower count of news sources compared to the follower count of celebrities on Twitter: Miley Cyrus, 14 million; The New York Times, 9 million; Kim Kardashian, 18 million; BBC, 4 million. This observation is usually met with the response that Americans are just stupid, but I would argue that popular media and advertising conditions us not to be troubled with bad news. These conditions are what make it easy to look the other way. It’s why we all still buy Apple products and eat at McDonald’s.

Reading about violence and death tolls in the Middle East is emotionally draining and depressing, and for some it may provoke a feeling of defeat and numbness. But Al-Soulaiman says that’s necessary. “When you feel pain, you experience a capacity for empathy,” she said. “Looking at the stuff you don’t want to see can expand your humanity.”

She described her journey to activism as one largely driven by emotion. “It all started with an inability to deal with my emotions,” she said, “A lot of college students can understand that feeling of being out of control, especially when we’re oversaturated by the media.” Political activism was a way for Al-Soulaiman to channel her emotions into action. She argued that anyone capable of feeling empathy is capable of making a difference.

Students who feel empathy must make the attempt in doing so. 

Conflict Kitchen is one outlet Pitt students can use to make a difference. From programs such as the Lunch Hour to printed excerpts of speeches regarding important political events, Conflict Kitchen is a budding activist’s best friend. Jon Rubin, one of the proprietors of Conflict Kitchen, said the restaurant is a platform for activists such as Al-Soulaiman. Rubin said employees of the restaurant often travel to the countries whose food it features and conduct long-term investigations to gain a better understanding of conflicts overseas. Last February the company sent three representatives to gather information on the political environments in Cuba and North Korea. 

But beyond having lunch in Schenley Plaza, there are plenty of ways that students can learn more and get involved in helping those affected by the crisis overseas. Tonight, Al-Soulaiman, Dr. Basel Termanini, a local physician who was born in Syria and Mohammed Bamyeh, a Pitt sociology professor, will speak at an event called Crisis in Syria: New Developments, hosted by FORGE Pittsburgh. The event will run from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the O’Hara Student Center.

Personal ties might be a catalyst for humanitarian action, but it shouldn’t make the involved person more ethically responsible for speaking up. 

Write Natalie at natalie.russell8@gmail.com.