Thanks to the devastating civil war in Syria, hundreds of thousands have died dead and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
That’s why these photos of Syrian children holding pictures of Pokémon characters are so heartbreaking.
The images, published on Facebook, show the saddened children looking into the camera holding images of Pokémon characters with the words: “I am here, come save me.”
The poignant photos were published by the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office (RFS), an outlet aiming to spread the messages of Syrians against Bashar al-Assad’s presidential regime.
A spokesperson for the RFS said: "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."
Below are just a selection of the touching images that have been viewed thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter, where one user aptly described it as “the Pokémon game you have not seen before…”
In the signs, the children reveal their names and locations
#PrayForSyria#RFS
— إعلام قوى الثورة (@RFS_mediaoffice) July 20, 2016
انقذوا #الطفولة في #سوريا!! pic.twitter.com/vEE86mPKSH
This one is beyond heartbreaking
#PrayForSyria
— إعلام قوى الثورة (@RFS_mediaoffice) July 20, 2016
I am from #Syria come to save me!!! pic.twitter.com/lRbSlGsWrB
Here they are clubbing together
Syrian children holding Pokemon photos in hopes the world will find them and save them.#Syria #SyriaBombing pic.twitter.com/red3kCuSqq
— Sedat Gündüz (@cptsdt) July 21, 2016