If you’re like me, you probably know nothing about the crisis going on in Syria right now. As ignorant as this is, I’ve been trying to avoid the news because it makes me sad and makes me feel like there’s nothing I can do to stop these tragedies.

But recently, media has been dripping with stories about the crisis in Syria—in Aleppo, to be specific. Before I knew it, I was scrolling through my newsfeeds on social media and seeing pictures of dying children, war-torn cities, and forgotten families. I felt my heart sink. I was uninformed, scared, and completely at a loss for any explanations.

So, if you don’t know, here’s a synopsis of what’s been going on in Syria:

Syria is in the middle of a civil war that has lasted for the last five years. The fighting is between two groups: soldiers who support the current president, Bashar al-Assad, and a group of rebel fighters trying to remove him from power.

The war has been called the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Over 11 million people—half of Syria’s population—have been killed or forced to flee the country. Fighting started in Deraa of Syria in March of 2011, but had moved to Aleppo by July 2012, when the city became one of the main battlegrounds.

Aleppo is a city in Syria, and used to hold the largest population in the country, with 2.3 million people. The city has especially been recognized for its significance to the country’s economy, history, and culture.

During the fighting, Aleppo became divided into two sections: the east, which housed the rebels, and the west, which was mainly controlled by the government soldiers. This divide lasted for roughly four years, until the end of this year, when the government launched attacks to try to take control of the whole city. Government forces won, gained control of Aleppo, and now have power over Syria’s four largest cities.

The war has had a very serious impact on the civilians of Aleppo. Resources such as food and fuel are scarce, buildings—including schools and hospitals—have been bombed, and innocent people are dying. Many have fled as refugees to try and escape the devastation. People living in the rebel area of Aleppo are still waiting desperately to be evacuated and find safety.

For a more in-depth look at the facts of the Syrian civil war, check out my sources from the BBC here and here, and the MercyCorps.

Okay, so all of this is incredibly tragic, but why is it important to us? Why should we care about people over 6,000 miles away from the United States?

Here’s why: this is not a Syrian problem. This is not a Middle Eastern problem. This is a human problem. As fellow human beings, it is our job, our responsibility, and our privilege to care for each other and to ensure one another’s safety.

Irish author Edmund Burke summarized it perfectly when he said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

In the U.S., we’ve consistently treated issues in the Middle East as political problems. We’ve distanced ourselves from these tragedies because they don’t pertain to us; it’s just politics; we are not responsible. But the crisis in Syria right now, right in this moment, is not political. It is human. And to simply sit back and do nothing is to show disdain for the sanctity of human life.

I’ve often wondered how I would have responded in historical situations of upheaval. In Nazi Germany, would I have been the neighbor who looked away as my friends were ripped from their homes and families? Would I have told myself it wasn’t my place to get involved when Adolf Hitler destroyed entire towns and blamed an entire race of people? Or would I have stood up, spoke out, and tried to help others, despite what it may cost?

Anne Frank herself said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” How wonderful indeed.

Syria is our generation’s Germany. It’s our chance to put an end to inhumane treatment of our fellow people, and stand up against violence, hatred, and atrocity.

You should care about Syria for the sake of humanity—for the sake of our fellow human beings, for the future, for the world. We should all care about what’s going on in Syria because it is the right thing to do.

If you want to start taking tangible steps towards helping those in Syria, check out this link by Global Citizen on 15 Ways You Can Help Syrian Refugees NOW. Or, sign MercyCorps’s petition to congress and donate to the cause.