Watch Unicef's powerful, heartwrenching new film that shows the reality of life for children fleeing war and disaster zones
A powerful, heartwrenching new film shows the reality of life for children fleeing war and disaster zones.
It shows how the lives of young people have literally been turned upside down.
Created by Unicef UK, it features a British family having a day out at the park.
The mum and dad sit watching their children play; dangling upside down from a climbing frame and doing headstands.
But each time one of the two children spins upside down, their world turns upside down with them, and we see a glimpse of the very different life they could be living in a country affected by war or natural disaster.
World Upside Down coincides with a new Unicef report showing that the number of children who have sought asylum in the European Union has almost doubled compared to the same period last year.
The charity is calling on the UK government to prioritise protecting children from violence at a time when children are facing more devastating wars and disasters than ever before and one in ten of the world’s children is growing up in a conflict zone.
Unicef's film features scenes mirroring real stories of children fleeing conflict zones. As it progresses, we see the children’s world getting darker, and the parents getting more and more distressed as they realise the danger they face.
It closes with a little boy sitting down on the railway tracks he has been following, worn out, shivering and alone as winter and darkness closes in - an all too familiar scene for millions of children escaping danger this winter.
The film has become a big hit on social media with celebrity tweets from Lewis Hamilton, Cat Deely, Jemima Khan, Eddie Izzard and David Walliams.
Unicef UK deputy executive director Lily Caprani, said: “Children have been killed while studying in the classroom, recovering in hospital or sleeping in their beds. Many have been orphaned, forced to become soldiers, kidnapped, raped and traumatised.
“Protecting children from violence is life-saving, just as much as water, shelter and medicine, yet it isn’t prioritised in the same way. This has to change.”
Unicef UK is calling on the UK government to prioritise protecting children from violence, seizing the opportunity presented by the first World Humanitarian Summit next year.
