1. Learning About Syria: A guided presentation for classroom use

2. The Basic Facts Syria :

3. Syria: The Basic Facts Syria is a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea that is considered part of the Middle East.

4. Syria: The Basic Facts While it is mostly desert, it has many beautiful cities that are centuries old.

5. Syria: The Basic Facts It is roughly the size of Missouri and has over 20 million people.

6. The Recent History Syria :

7. Syria: The Recent History Since the year 2000, it has been ruled by the dictator Bashar al-Assad.

8. Syria: The Recent History His rule has been autocratic, meaning governed by one person, without any democracy.

9. Syria: The Recent History Since 2011, the Syrian people have rebelled against him, demanding their basic human rights.

10. Syria: The Recent History Their revolt has been part of a movement for freedom in the Middle East known as the Arab Spring.

11. The Rebellion Syria :

12. Syria: The Rebellion The revolt was started by students who wrote anti-government graffiti on the wall of their school.

13. Syria: The Rebellion Assad’s forces have struck back, attempting to crush the rebellion.

14. Syria: The Rebellion Over 20,000 Syrians have been killed in the past two years.

15. Syria: The Rebellion Over 250,000 have been forced to flee for their lives in refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey.

16. The refugee camps

17. The World’s Reaction Syria :

18. Syria: The World’s Reaction The U.S. and other countries have tried to work with the United Nations to find a peaceful solution.

19. Syria: The World’s Reaction China, Russia, and Iran all have blocked these actions, fearing the Syrian revolt will spread to their countries.

20. Syria: The World’s Reaction It is unclear if Assad will remain in power.

21. Syria: The World’s Reaction Enforcing a “No-Fly” Zone could stop Assad’s gunships from terrorizing the people.

22. Syria: The World’s Reaction Starting sanctions —or penalties— on Assad’s bank accounts could cripple his power.

23. Why it matters Syria :

24. Syria: Why it matters The United States has its own history fighting tyranny in the American Revolution.

25. The Boston Massacre, 1770

26. Syria: Why it matters History has also shown that oppresion often spreads to other countries if it is not stopped. Nazi invasion of Poland, 1939

27. Syria: Why it matters We exist as one global community. What affects one person, affects us all.

28. What you can do Syria :

29. Syria: What you can do Put pressure on the world’s leaders to stop Assad’s violence. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations

30. Syria: What you can do Call 1-800-GENOCIDE to express your concern to our leaders.

31. Syria: What you can do Spread the word by friending “I Am Syria” on Facebook.

32. Show the “I Am Syria” video“I Am Syria” video