War-Weary Syrian Kids Ask Trump And Clinton Questions In Heartbreaking Video
War-weary Syrian children from Aleppo asked the US presidential candidates heartbreaking – but important – questions in a video for the Huffington Post.
One child asked,
The planes are coming, and they're firing at us. What are we going to do? What are we going to do?
Another asked,
When will you come and stop [President Bashar al-Assad]? Because he's attacking us, killing children and blockading us.
These devastating queries are a testament to the awful impact the war in Syria has had on the country's children, especially in Aleppo.
The children in this video simply want to know when the senseless violence will end.
Huffington Post was able to film their questions by collaborating with freelance journalists in Aleppo.
Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has been decimated by the conflict, which is now five years old and has claimed nearly half a million lives.
At the beginning of October, the UN warned the city could be totally destroyed in two months.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy to Syria, said,
The bottom line is in a maximum of two months, two and a half months, the city of eastern Aleppo, at this rate, may be totally destroyed.
In the last 25 days, at least 130 children were killed in Aleppo, which has suffered under relentless bombing from the Syrian government and its Russian allies.
Justin Forsyth, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, recently stated,
The children of Aleppo are trapped in a living nightmare. There are no words left to describe the suffering they are experiencing.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia have been accused of committing war crimes.
Secretary of State John Kerry recently said,
Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, medical facilities, children, women. These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes.
Russia has announced it will institute an eight-hour ceasefire on Thursday, and will temporarily stop airstrikes in the rebel-held eastern section of Aleppo.
But, as the children in this video highlighted, the Syrian people are in need of much more than a ceasefire.
They need this war, and the humanitarian crisis it has induced, to end.
