Watch these Syrian refugee children dance to a love story

The simple dance to Lebanese singer Ramy Ayach’s hit 'Qesset Hob' went viral on social media

Children pose for a picture in a camp for displaced Syrians near the village of for the Kafr Uruq, in Syria's northern rebel-held Idlib province, on December 17, 2021. AFP

An Arabic song about a love story has inspired Syrian children to dance and forget about their problems as refugees, if only for a short while.

The simple dance to Lebanese singer Ramy Ayach’s hit Qesset Hob (This is a Love Story) has gone viral on social media after Syrian photographer Mohammed Al Hazaa posted it on his Instagram page.

Al Hazaa said he wants to raise awareness of the appalling humanitarian conditions Syrian refugees face in winter. The video was filmed at a refugee camp in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

“In a dark and freezing winter, there’s hope,” reads one of the comments.

“A humane way, even with just a song, to raise consciousness about what’s happening in Syria and support its children,” read another.

The lyrics in English translate to:

This’ is a love story on the beach of love

The most beautiful story at the bottom of our hearts

In it is all what I have wished for

With you, I have the most beautiful feeling

As the Syria crisis enters its eleventh year next March, the humanitarian situation is more difficult than ever.

An estimated 13 million people need humanitarian assistance and more than half of the population remains displaced from their homes – including 6.6 million refugees living in neighbouring countries, according to the UN.

In Lebanon alone, nine out of ten refugee families are now living in extreme poverty. The country has the largest per capita population of refugees in the world. As of 2020, the Lebanese government estimated their country was hosting 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

As temperatures start to drop across countries hosting refugees, thousands of vulnerable families are still waiting for support to survive the cold months. They include the elderly, widows and orphans.