Image via Adam Townsend
Banksy, the pseudo-guerrilla-street-artist-turned-household-name, participated in a video released on Thursday to kick off an international campaign, #WithSyria, ahead of the third anniversary this Saturday of Syria’s civil war. The campaign is being mounted by a coalition of human rights and international development groups, including Amnesty International and Oxfam, in an effort to highlight the plight of Syrian civilians suffering in the conflict.The #WithSyria YouTube video.The short video features a version of Banksy’s famous 2002 image of a girl with a balloon, this time reimagined as a young Syrian refugee. Narrated by British actor Idris Elba, the clip urges viewers to use the hashtag #WithSyria on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram in an expression of solidarity."Will we let the people of Syria lose another year to bloodshed and suffering?” Elba asks. “Will you stand with Syria?"The revised Banksy image will be projected in a series of vigils held around the world.
This is not the first time Banksy has used his art to convey a political message to the public. Some of his best-known pieces are on the vast separation wall along and within the West Bank.Celebrity-studded social media campaigns that take on international crises don’t always succeed — the failure of the Kony 2012 campaign calling for the arrest of Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony is one example. It’s unclear what impact, if any, the #WithSyria campaign will have on resolving the conflict, which shows no sign of abating as it enters its fourth year.Follow Olivia Becker on Twitter: @obecker928
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