Looking at War Torn Syria Through the Lens of Pokemon Go

This project seeks to use Pokemon Go as a way to grab attention to the escalating crisis in Syria.

Artist Khaled Akil designed a series of Pokemon Go characters placed in ravaged landscapes in different parts of Syria. His motivation, he said, was not to make people feel guilty about not paying attention to Syria, but rather using Pokemon Go as a way to grab attention to the escalating crisis.

Being an avid follower of news and global social trends, I found this unnerving contradiction between the playfulness of the Pokémon world and the danger which Syrians and Syrian children live through every day,

Khaled Akil to Al Jazeera

The turmoil has affected my work. A photographer holding his camera is the same as a militant holding his Kalashnikov. The camera is a weapon, because it reveals the ugly truth, and removes all masks.

Khaled Akil

Another activist-led project has also used Pokemon Go to highlight matters in Syria. Here, photos with children holding up posters with the little monsters are used with #PokémonInSyria to urge people to find the children in Syria too.

Here’s hoping that people finally sit up and take notice of what’s happening in Syria.