On the eve of the World Cup in Qatar, the World Cup was opened at the camps in northwestern Syria, with the participation of over 300 children, in an initiative launched by a local organization to highlight the suffering of this most affected group since the war, according to one of the organizers.
In the Idlib City Municipal Stadium, 32 teams representing the Qatar World Cup participating teams attended the opening ceremony, which included sports and arts events, one of which embodied the suffering of Syrians, including children, during more than a decade of a bloody war that displaced millions inside and outside Syria and killed an estimated half a million people.
The players wore, according to an AFP photographer, the official uniforms of the national teams. The competition opened with a match between two teams representing Qatar and Ecuador, in a simulation of the upcoming opening match tomorrow, Sunday, in Qatar.
“Today we are at the opening of the World Cup of Camps, with the participation of 32 teams of children aged between 10 and 14,” Ibrahim Sarmini, protection coordinator at the Violet Humanitarian Organization, told AFP. organize matches and train teams. .
Twenty-five teams from Idlib camps in and around Idlib, as well as seven teams including children working in industrial zones, are participating after undergoing a training course that began about six months ago, according to organizers.
On the sidelines of his participation in the inauguration, Basil Sheikho (12), who works in the field of car electricity, enthusiastically told France Press: “We have come to participate in the World Cup. I represent Spain and I hope we will win the cup.”
In addition to encouraging children to play sports, the initiative, according to Sarmini, aims to “draw the world’s attention to displaced and working children… as they are among the groups most at risk, which can sometimes be dangerous for life”.
Children in conflict-affected countries, including Syria, pay a “high price for violence,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a statement on Friday, stressing the need to “respect the right of children to protection from violence at all times and by all parties to the conflict.” .
The Camp World Cup competitions will continue throughout the Qatar World Cup 2022, with the proviso that the final match will be staged at one of the random camps, to which Idlib Governorate is restricted.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra) and other less influential factions control areas in and around Idlib, home to some three million people, about half of whom have been displaced by battles from other areas and live in fields devoid of the more basic necessities of life.
Sarmini said: “Winter is approaching and the fields are suffering a bad situation due to torrential rains and rains. May the whole world, on this occasion, consider the situation of these people and ask them to return to their areas as soon as possible» .
