Syrian children tell people 'I am still alive' in awareness campaign

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People in besieged Eastern Ghouta, Syria, are raising their hands in photos to highlight the plight of children trapped in the region as regime attacks continue.

The movement has gained momentum on social media networks, with the hashtag #IAmStillAlive. The photos encourage people to post their own photos with the pose to stand with them.

/VCG Photo

Organized by local rescue activists and children, the campaign hopes to attract more international attention and win support for the humanitarian crisis caused by the Assad regime and its supporters in Eastern Ghouta, part of Damascus, Syria.

One month ago, intense fighting started again in Syria. The attacks carried out by the Assad regime and its supporters in Eastern Ghouta have killed 127 children in the past 12 days, according to a report by the White Helmets, a civil defense group.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta. However, the attacks continue despite a ceasefire in the region.

A child in the area said he was grateful to be alive. “They say there is a ceasefire between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but they are lying. They are shooting in the middle of the ceasefire. Everyone is lying to us, we are starving to death, we sleep in distress and wake up with it,” he said.

“The airstrikes hit us but thank God I survived,” another child who was injured in a regime attack said.

Over 400,000 people have been under siege for the last five years and humanitarian access to the area has been completely cut off in Eastern Ghouta.

In the past eight months, Assad regime forces have intensified their siege of Eastern Ghouta, making it nearly impossible for food or medicine to get into the district and leaving thousands of patients in need of treatment.

Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

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