The city of Banias is a city on the west side of Syria. It is one of the cities that were known for their early protests against the Assad regime. The city has many different communities from different religious backgrounds. At the beginning of the revolution the city of Banias witnessed huge protests. The protesters held flowers to give to the security forces and the soldiers who were firing on them.

On May 3^rd, the city of Banias was a target for a number of bloody massacres that targeted children, women, men and even the elderly. The Banias massacres were very shocking to many people on many levels. #Banias then became a hashtag on twitter to spread the word and tell the story of the people of Banias.

Some pictures of the children who were killed were spread on the internet few days after.

Chicago was one of the cities that responded to the massacres in a very creative way. A group of Syrians laid down on the floor with red color paint all over their bodies holding signs that encourage people to ask about why they were doing so and other signs about the massacres.