Activists hold signs and red balloons during a ‘vigil of solidarity’ to mark the third anniversary of the start of the conflict and the ongoing violence in Syria by the Capitol Reflecting Pool. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Activists hold signs and red balloons during a ‘vigil of solidarity’ to mark the third anniversary of the start of the conflict and the ongoing violence in Syria by the Capitol Reflecting Pool. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Since Wednesday, Syrian and American volunteers have been in front of the White House reading the names of the civilians killed in Syria since the conflict began three years ago.

The 100,000 Names campaign, a creation of writer Amal Hanano, was started in reaction to the “impossible questions”: “How does one begin to quantify the dead when they are in the tens of thousands? How does one begin to comprehend the sheer loss of life that the Syrian people have suffered in their quest for freedom and dignity? How does one remember? How does a community vow never to forget?” After 72 hours of continuous reading, the event will end at 11 a.m. Saturday “with an interfaith prayer in memory of the fallen heroes of the Syrian revolution.”

The reading will be followed by a rally at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that will feature guest speakers from Syria, including activist Qusai Zakarya, Vice President of the Syrian Coalition Noura Alameer, and several journalists.

The With Syria campaign, the group responsible for placing the Banksy posters around Capitol Hill, held a vigil near the Reflecting Pool last night, just one of 30 worldwide events organized by the group to mark the anniversary.

More than 146,000 people have been killed since 2011, according to a statistic by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited by the Washington Post. That’s one person every ten minutes.

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