Pokemon Go highlights plight of Syrian kids in war-torn country

Five years of civil war in Syria have resulted in the deaths of thousands of men, women, children and the most serious refugee crisis to hit the shores of Europe since the Second World War. Every now and then, reports of barrel bomb attacks, unspeakable torture and starving civilians trickling in the news media have perhaps caused many people to be resigned about the deplorable situation over there. So, some Syrian activists decided to take advantage of the current hype around Pokemon Go to put the spotlight on the suffering of kids in Syria.

They posted photographs of Syrian children holding pictures of Pokemon characters on social media in order to grab international attention towards the helpless conditions of kids living in the region. The pictures of the Pokemon characters – like Pikachus, Squirtles, and Weedles – also carried captions that identified the child from a particular town or village in a rebel-held area in northwest Syria with a plea to be rescued from there.

The point behind these Pokemon portraits, which have been shared thousands of times on social media by now, is that if people can spend so much time chasing imaginary creatures then why they can’t do more for children who are war victims.

You can find some of these viral Pokemon pictures below: