Pointes for Peace Oct. 22 program to focus on Syria and the refugee crisis

posted on: Oct 5, 2015

Pointes for Peace will host Jihad Alharash, M.D., MPH, a Syrian-born physician who has worked with numerous non-profit organizations for medical and humanitarian relief, Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at Grosse Pointe Woods Presbyterian Church.

“Syria: The Great Humanitarian Crisis of the Century” is the title of Dr. Alharash’s presentation which is free and open to the public. The church is located at 19950 Mack in Grosse Pointe Woods.

Four and a half years since the uprising started in Syria, hundreds of thousands of Syrian citizens have been killed, and millions have been displaced and are seeking refuge in other countries. More than half of those displaced are children. Recently the U.S. has joined European nations in efforts to resettle Syrian refugees.

Born and raised in Damascus, Dr. Alharash graduated from Tishreen University School of Medicine in Lattakia, Syria in 2009. He received his medical training at Tulane University, New Orleans; Cook County Hospital, Chicago; the Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University; and was an endocrinology research fellow at WSU in 2013. He also earned a Masters in Public Health from WSU in 2015.

Dr. Alharash has worked with multiple non-profit and non-governmental organizations for medical and humanitarian relief. Since 2012, he has volunteered for the education, fundraising and Lebanon medical relief committees of the Syrian American Medical Society. He recently co-founded the Michigan Syrian Refugee Committee to help Syrian families who are migrating to the U.S.

Pointes for Peace is a community-based group of East-Siders and others who are committed to educating for conflict resolution and other strategies to work for peace on local, national and international levels. The organization has been in existence since 2003. Membership is free.  All are welcome at Pointes for Peace vigils and programs.

For more information call Carol Bendure at (313) 882-7732, email pointesforpeace@yahoo.com, or visit www.pointesforpeace.org.