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Displaced and dying residents of Syrian city Aleppo have been urged to get better at football if they want the west to care about their tragic circumstances.
With 16,000 civilians forced to flee the fighting, and 1,000 Aleppo residents killed since the ceasefire ended two months ago, Syrians caught in the conflict have rued their inability to accurately kick a ball.
Aleppo resident Hassan Williams told us, “Back in October we lost over 100 children in bombing raids in just one week, but then again, none of them were on the books of any decent football clubs so it’s not surprising you didn’t hear about it.
“We do know it’s our own fault. If only we’d spent more time in our youth kicking a ball around instead of trying to stay alive, those of you in the west would be a little more bothered about our plight.
“A bomb blowing up a hospital is awful, but it’s not like the people inside were denied a glittering football career, is it?”
The Red Cross have been urged leave a few shipments of food and medicine behind in order to ship more critical supplies to the region, such as thousands of footballs.
A Red Cross spokesperson explained, “We must do whatever we can to help these people, and if developing their football skills is what gets their unfolding tragedy into the media spotlight, then so be it.”
