MSDThe Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) office held on Sunday a cultural evening in Vienna, Austria, in collaboration with the “Readers are Leaders” forum. The writer Mary Kiriaki and a number of those interested in culture participated in that event.
A large audience interested in literature and culture attended that event, which was marked by the reading of poignant stories about the suffering of Syrians and their social life. The attendees discussed humanitarian issues and the relationships and bonds that unite Syrians despite differences in religion and ethnicity.
One of the stories read was about the martyr monk, Father Paolo, who was killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Raqqa. Some of the events of his activities were recalled by those who knew him, including Riyadh Darrar, Co-chairman of the SDC’s Advisory Office, who discussed many matters with him at the Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian.
Mary Kiriaki is a Syrian writer born in Damascus and a graduate with a degree in French from the University of Damascus. Kiriaki is a founding member and Head of the Arab Women’s Association in Vienna. Also, she is a former editor-in-chief of the “Balsam” magazine published by the Association. Additionally, she is a founding member of the Arab United Nations Staff Association in Vienna, a board member of the Arab Human Rights Organization in Austria, and is an activist in the relief field for Syrian IDPs living in camps inside Syria.
