Beirut: Abdullah Mohammed and his daughter, Salwa who laughed at the the sound of bombs to overcome her fear, escaped the war zone and is starting a new life in Turkey.
According to reports, the Turkish government helped her escape the Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold region in northwestern Syria.
It has been the subject of a ferocious military campaign and relentless bombardment by Russia-backed Syrian government troops since early December. More than 900,000 civilians have been on the move since then, displaced from their homes. Many now live in tents, abandoned buildings, makeshift shelters and in open fields near the Turkish border.
Read: 11 civilians killed in Syria as regime forces re-enter key town
Mohammed and his daughter, 3-year-old Salwa, became overnight celebrities after a video they shot was shared widely on social media — a reminder of the horrors faced by children in Syria. In the video, Salwa, wearing a pink dress, stands on a sofa next to her father.
Salwa had been hearing bombs all her life. As a baby there was no fear, but that changed after her first year. One day, they were at home in Saraqeb during Eid al-Fitr, the three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Children outside were celebrating with fire crackers, and a big one exploded nearby.
“She was frightened, but I took her out and showed her that children were playing and laughing ... she was convinced,” he recalled. That was how he got the idea to connect the sound of bombs with laughter and kids playing, and to film himself laughing with her every time warplanes hit.
(With inputs from agencies)
