Anthony Lake, the executive director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Friday called for an urgent action to help more than 100,000 children who are now “trapped in the horror” in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
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Hundreds of other children in Syria haven’t been so lucky.
You can contribute to help fund Calvin’s work in Syria by donating here, funding ambulance and paramedic services at the clinic Calvin works at in Qamishli.
Omran, his three siblings and parents were injured in the strike but survived, with his seven-year-old sister undergoing surgery on Thursday. The killed people also include more than 4,500 children.
The little boy’s name is Omran and he lived with his family in an apartment building in the rebel-held eastern quarter of the city.
THE FACE OF SYRIANS’ PLIGHT In this frame grab from a video by the Syrian antigovernment group Aleppo Media Center, Omran Daqneesh, 5, stares ahead blankly after being pulled out of a building hit by an air strike in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday.
When you look at Omran’s face, this bloodied, impassive face, it hits you that the boy is so traumatized that even as he pulled his hand away with his own blood, he doesn’t react, he just doesn’t respond.
In the Arab world, social media users started a hashtag campaign called #Omran – From – Under – the – Rubble, which galvanized some angry denunciations of the world’s indifference to the Syrian conflict and its consequences. The second one turned little Omran’s life upside down. I always cry. We war photographers always cry.
“I’ve seen so many children rescued out of the rubble, but this child, with his innocence, he had no clue what was going on”, Mustafa al-Sarout, who filmed the video that went viral, told the Guardian.
The image of Omran, his face a mask of blood and dust and his eyes full of bewilderment, has had a similar impact this week.
“Omran was afraid and astonished and he didn’t cry because he was shocked”, the surgeon named by the BBC as Dr. Mohammad said, adding that the child hadn’t spoken a word.
These camps are akin to prisons where, according to a recent UNICEF report, children experience sexual exploitation, violence and forced labour on a daily basis.
Speaking with CNN Philippines anchor Claire Celdran by phone, Buswell said, “The conditions for children are very dire; the situation is devastating”.
Civilians in Aleppo and other areas suffer continued attacks as forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including the Russian government, battle with various anti-Assad rebel groups.
Once considered Syria’s largest city, Aleppo still has a population of 1.5 to 2 million people.
“The Russians are showing they have options in Syria while they have Washington over a barrel on Aleppo”, Andrew Tabler, Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told PBS.
The image highlights the accountability of the two counties in Syria’s carnage, in which the United States has been supporting the Syrian rebels and Russian Federation has been supporting the Assad regime.
Take the European Union, for instance, now dubbed “Fortress Europe”, over its brutal efforts to barricade refugees from escaping the violence in Syria.
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“Not one single convoy in one month has reached any of the humanitarian besieged areas”. “Because of one thing: fighting”. Mistura has however said that such measures should be left at the discretion of the United Nations and no one should be forced to leave.
