These kids are posing with Pokémon, but not for the reason you think

Everyone is obsessed with Pokémon Go. In fact, the whole world has gone Pokémon M.A.D. There’s even a new Pokémon dating service, which allows users to “match” with people who are also using the app.

With all the hype surrounding the Japanese Pocket Monsters at the moment, a group of activists have decided to use Pokémon for a different reason: to raise awareness for children affected by the on going difficulties in Syria.

Syria has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2011, one that has created the worst refugee crisis since World War II, and forced over 4 million people to flee their homes seek refuge in other countries.

Now people have started sharing pictures of children posing with Pokémon characters to help raise awareness for the plight of those in the war torn country.

The pictures, which have been shared on Twitter and Facebook by the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office, who actively oppose the Syrian President, Assad’s, regime, see the children looking directly at the camera with their Poké friends and the words, “I am here, come save me”. The signs also state the location of each individual.

Speaking to The Independent, a spokesperson for the RFS said, “With the media spread wide for Pokemon game we decided to publish these images to highlight the suffering of the Syrian people…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 images are being shared to raise awareness for the plight of the people of Syria, with the hope that people will start go focus their attentions on the crisis.

Saif Aldeen Tahhan, a Syrian artist and refugee living in Denmark, has also utlized the game to show the atrocities at play. “People on social media talk about Pokemon all the time so I created these images to draw attention to suffering during the war and what Syrians are really searching for,” Tahhan said to CNN.

Since the war began in Syria five years ago, it’s been reported that a quarter of a million children are still living under siege in the country.

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