Artists dare to compel the world to look, actually see and feel the emptiness, fear and loss of life that millions are experiencing in this very moment as refugees of the Syrian conflict.

Syri-Arts Beirut: 101 Works of Art for Syrian Refugee Children launches their campaign today. With the support of more than 140 artists from the region and Europe, Syri-Arts Beirut will auction more than 150 donated works to raise funds to benefit Syrian refugee children with food, clothing, medicine and an education.

Syria and the plight of the refugees is most certainly a crisis. There are more than two million refugees from Syria, more than one million of whom are children, over a million in Lebanon alone (that still has a large Palestinian refugee community), the vast majority are women and children, and yes, most of the children are not in school.

Yet, ignored and if the current political, economic and social conditions remain, how can these children possibly achieve their own greatness and contributions to humanity?

Syri-Arts has started the on-line bidding through www.Paddle8.Com. The live auction will be on November 8, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. (Lebanon time +GMT).

Prominent artists of photography, sculpture and paintings have joined the effort from Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Bahrain, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Great Britain.  These artists are global and are represented in collections around the world.

Founded by Nora Joumblatt, Syri-Arts is a collaboration between the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs, UNICEF, Save the Children International, Action Against Hunger, SyriArt Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) and the Beirut Exhibition Center.

As Spanish legendary artist from Catalan Antoni Tapies once said,

“Painting can be a ray of sunlight in the middle of a gale (…) it can be the footprint of a man on the path of life or, why not, a foot that stamps on the ground to say, “enough!”

These artists are saying “Enough!” Will you?

By Keri Douglas, writer/photographer, Washington, D.C. (Please follow 9 Muses News copyright use policy.)