The photos of Syrian children holding pictures of Pokemon characters have been circulating the Internet reminding the world while it goes bonkers about its new-found virtual obsession, they continue to live a tragic reality.

The heart-breaking images published on Facebook shows little ones looking into the camera holding images with a message in Arabic asking the world to save them. It also states the location of children who are in different Syrian towns.

One of the message translates as “I am in Kafr Nabl on the outskirts of Idlib, come and save me.”

The photos were posted by the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office (RFS), a Turkey based media outlet that focuses on bringing to light the truth about Syrian revolution.

A RFS spokesperson told The Independent, ” With the media spread wide for Pokemon game we decided to publish these images to highlight the suffering of the Syrian people from the bombing of the forces of order and Air-Assad to the Syrian people and besiege them. 

“We want to raise awareness and draw attention to the plight of Syrian children in besieged areas and the suffering of Syrian people who are attacked and killed by the Assad regime and its allies.”

The pictures that have also been shared on Twitter have evoked a massive reaction with people expressing disappointment and frustration over the plight of Syrians being ignored.

However, this is not the first time that someone has tried to harness the Pokemon Go craze to draw attention to the war-torn country. A Syrian graphic designer Saif Tahhan also gave a Syrian twist to the game to show the impact of wars on the Syrian people over the past five years. 

He recently posted images on Facebook showing people playing game in devastated cities trying to catch first aid, life vests, teddy bears, books and housing instead of cartoon monsters.

Tahhan told Al Arabiya “The world has become obsessed with this video game, so I told myself why not use it as a medium to convey our suffering. 

“Everyone is now searching for Pokemon, however, Syrians are searching for the basic necessities of life. Honestly, I don’t think the world feels for us.”

The images came after nearly 60 civilians including children were killed in northern Syria after being mistaken for Islamic State fighters. 

According to a Save the Children statistics, five years after the crisis began, nearly 12,000 children have been killed and more than 2.3 million have had to leave the country while more than a quarter of a million children continue to live in constant fear of barrel bombs, air strikes and shelling.

(Feature Image Source: Twitter)

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