Shadi Martini

Shadi was educated at the Aleppo Scientific College and later his BA from Beirut University College in 1993. He then moved to Bulgaria where he established his own manufacturing company. In 2008, after starting a family and enjoying several successful years in business, he returned to Syria where he became general manager of Martini Hospital in Aleppo. He had no idea that Syria’s fragile peace would erupt into civil war just two years later.

After demonstrations began in March 2011, the Syrian government cracked down on anyone suspected of opposing the regime. During this time, the climate of violence and suspicion led many health facilities to deny care to the sick and wounded out of fear of reprisal by the Syrian government. Although complying with the regime would guarantee safety for him and his family, Shadi’s conscience would not allow him to stand by as others suffered. Despite the danger, Shadi felt it was his duty to help people in need of health services – so, along with other brave colleagues, he set up an underground network to provide free health care to civilians in need. When the operation was discovered in mid-2012, Shadi was forced to flee and leave behind not only his family and homeland, but also the life he had built there.

From his refuge in Bulgaria, Shadi immediately explored every opportunity to continue helping his fellow displaced Syrians. He founded the humanitarian Refugee Support Group, established European aid networks, and served as the NGO Sector Representative to the Bulgarian Government’s Crisis Committee – facilitating the resettlement of 30,000 Syrians and other refugees in Bulgaria. In 2014, he relocated to the U.S. and soon organized two medical missions to support refugees in Greece.

Shadi continued his work from the U.S., which led to his involvement with the Multifaith Alliance (MFA), a non-profit organization that represents the largest interfaith response to the Syrian humanitarian crisis. At MFA, he quickly rose to become Chief Executive Officer, devoting his vision, experience, and drive to facilitating partnerships among Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim communities to create a network of support for Syrian refugees and other vulnerable communities around the world.

Drawing on the strength and breadth of more than 100 faith-based and civic groups that comprised MFA, and utilizing every available public forum, Shadi led the appeal to Capitol Hill to institute a rational and humane U.S. immigration policy that would resettle fully vetted Syrian refugees and support their integration into American life.

In response to hateful campaigns and xenophobic rhetoric that stoked fear and contempt against Syrians who were attempting to escape violence, Shadi told the Guardian: “Turning away those fleeing war would mean disregarding the very values that made America the richest, most powerful nation in the world. We should be more afraid of losing our honor and virtue, than of helping these refugees, 80% of whom are women and children.”

Shadi’s method to overcome these scare tactics has always been to highlight the contributions that Syrian and other refugees have made to American society and remind the public of the values that have made the United States a beacon of hope for a nation of immigrants.

In the aftermath of the Trump administration’s extreme reduction of refugee resettlement, Shadi redirected MFA’s focus to delivering humanitarian aid to Syrians who had fled to bordering regions and were internally displaced inside Syria. Southwest Syria had long been under siege by the Assad regime, which was using starvation as a weapon of war. When Israel decided to facilitate aid to Syria through Operation Good Neighbor, Shadi worked with the groups on both sides – Israelis and Syrians — to get aid through the Golan Heights to trapped Syrians. This feat of diplomacy in which Shadi brought together sworn enemies, enabled MFA to leverage this corridor to deliver essential aid as well as build a bread factory and maternity hospital, and bring a period of economic stability to the region.

Shadi’s ongoing relationships, and a decade of experience have contributed to the facility and economy with which MFA now executes aid shipments to many vulnerable communities across the Middle East. In the wake of last year’s catastrophic earthquake in Syria, MFA was well prepared to galvanize its partners and send immediate emergency supplies, despite the daunting strategic and infrastructure challenges posed.

Under Shadi’s leadership, MFA has provided over $500 million worth of aid to Syrian territories, northern Iraq, Lebanon, and Ukraine. These efforts have served more than 2.5 million households and now sustain the activities of dozens of hospitals, medical facilities, and camps. The aid delivery model Shadi developed – which leverages diverse partners to serve hard-to reach areas – is now bringing essential supplies into Gaza.

One of the most significant successes of Shadi’s work has been his ability to build bridges between communities that have historically been divided. MFA works hand-in-hand with its diverse network of faith-based and secular partners to source and distribute aid, implement humanitarian projects, and raise awareness of displacement crises.

Amid escalating violence throughout the Middle East and rising incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia worldwide, Shadi’s example of leadership is needed now more than ever. We are living in an age where political divisiveness and religious intolerance have reached dangerous heights, and Shadi is at the helm of the only American organization that offers tangible solutions that directly impact the lives of civilians affected by conflict, while at the same time bridging the gap among different religions and cultures to do so.

His work both in Syria and abroad has had a profound effect on the lives of countless individuals. The close relationships he has maintained inside Syria and the region give him a unique vantage point to provide first-hand briefings of the crisis to leaders of governments and civil society, as well as in interviews, articles, and speeches.

His unceasing efforts to bridge divides between communities, advocate for the rights of refugees and displaced people, and challenge the narratives that perpetuate fear and division are a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when one refuses to remain silent in the face of injustice.

As Chief Executive of the Multifaith Alliance, Shadi’s vision is to strengthen and expand the organization’s existing projects and programs in the U.S. and abroad to effect large scale policy and cultural changes, and secure lasting solutions to the Syrian refugee crisis, and beyond.

The information on this page was last updated on 10-29-2024 and was provided by the Luminary.