DETROIT — Over one hundred local citizens marched in a rally at Grand Circus Park that concluded in a gathering at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit on Sunday, in an effort to condemn potential U.S. air strikes against Syria. 

The various organizers of the rally, which included the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice (MECAWI), were able to attract diverse crowds from Detroit and metro-Detroit communities. The message was heard loud and clear, through chants that included “hands off Syria,” and “no more war.”

Speakers at the rally included MEACAWI leader Abayomi Azikiwe, University of Michigan assistant professor of political science Michael Heaney, and world renowned British politician George Galloway, who addressed the crowd through audio, via Skype.

Galloway called on the U.S. government to allocate the billions of dollars that could potentially be consumed in the war towards the economy, which continues to inhibit Americans on a daily basis, citing Detroit’s recent bankruptcy troubles.

Local protesters during the Detroit anti-war rally last weekend.

“If the U.S. government has money to spend, then it needs to be spent in Michigan, on the massive unemployment rate, massive poverty and the massive repossession of homes. If the U.S. government has money to burn, then spend it on its own people,” Galloway stated in his message, which blared through speakers at Hart Plaza.

Galloway also pointed out the irony of the U.S.’s position to support the rebel movement in Syria, as credible sources continue to allege that members of the opposition movement there are linked to Al-Qaeda. This week marks the 12th anniversary of 9/11, which was immediately followed by the Bush administration deeming the militant group responsible for orchestrating the attacks. 

George W. Bush’s name seemed to be a common reference point during the majority of the protest. Many speakers consider Obama’s current persistence, to convince the American public that President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people, despite the lack of evidence, as all too familiar territory. Many recalled a time when Bush had made “Weapons of Mass Destruction” claims against Iraq, which eventually led to the U.S. invasion in 2003. 

“We don’t need another disaster in the Middle East. All we have to do is remind ourselves of what happened ten years ago, when lies were told, in order to justify and rationalize a war against Iraq, which left over a million people dead and four million people displaced,” said Abayomi Azikiwe.

Jessica Haddad, a Syrian American, said that most members of her community are not in favor of a U.S. intervention in Syria. Last Friday, a pro-U.S. intervention march in Birmingham included some members of the Syrian American community, who exhibit differing views on the conflict. However, Haddad says that what is occurring in Syria shouldn’t be dubbed as a “civil war,” but more-so an “invasion.” 

“To support the rebels is to support those who attacked us on 9/11, and that is not right. The most patriotic thing you could do for America is to not support the war and to not support Al-Qaeda. What makes you think that they aren’t going to do the same thing again with the money we are giving them now? What makes you think they won’t attack us again?” Haddad told the crowd.

Just as prevalent as Arab American locals, were African American locals as well; some of whom called on Obama to focus on the crisis in Detroit, rather than the crisis in Syria. Andrea Egypt, a Detroit resident, told The Arab American News after the rally that her community’s enthusiasm for Obama has dropped drastically in the last few months, as he has not once mentioned, or acknowledged, Detroit’s bankruptcy; a city that is home to the largest concentration of African Americans.   

“The president has not addressed any of the depression, suppression and poverty that have increased for the African American community at all. He has not said one word about Detroit’s bankruptcy. He said he was going to be a president that was anti-war, and we find out that he’s pro-war,” Egypt says. “Some people may still have blind support for him, because he’s black, but once you see what he’s doing, he reveals himself to us. He is nothing more than a politician.”