Virtual reality brings Syria to Sydney

Under the shade of an enormous tree in a central Sydney park, the utter devastation of Syrian towns completely razed by bombings is shockingly palpable.

Disgusted with being fed lies including that human blood strewn on Syrian streets was merely tomato sauce, activist Bassam al-Ahmad has partnered with Amnesty International to give Australians a virtual-reality glimpse of the five-year conflict that has ravaged his country.

"Through these images we hope to tell a very small part of the full story in the hope of affecting change," Mr al-Ahmad told AAP at Wynyard Park.

"It's sometimes very sad, especially when you know these places, especially when you see pictures of famous places completely destroyed by this war."

Panoramic images of barrel-bombed districts of Damascus and Aleppo, now beaming out through headsets, were not easily obtained.

Within months of launching the project in 2011, Mr al-Ahmad and all staff at the Syrian Violation Documentation Centre were arrested at their Damascus offices.

They were carted off to an airforce base before being taken to a military fort, in a bid to disrupt their hunger strike.

Mr al-Ahmad said compared to the agony of children and elderly people crammed into confined spaces alongside him, his 87 days held in custody seemed bearable.

"Some of my colleagues stayed for more than three years, but I was lucky because they transferred me to the military court and then they released me."

Mr al-Ahmad said the emergence of Islamic State in the Syrian conflict carried with it an escalation in the brutality and violence of photos and videos collected.

However, human rights atrocities cannot be tied to any one party, he said.

The war has claimed the lives of at least 250,000 Syrians and left more than 11 million displaced.

Amnesty International's Diana Sayed said the project was focused on bringing Syria to the streets of Sydney.

"It can seem like it's happening off in a very isolated country away from Australia," she said.

"But as a nation that's committed the second largest military to the US-led coalition, it's important for Australians to understand that we have a role to play and that we can influence the crisis."