DUBAI: British singer Dua Lipa shared an emotional message with her 28.5 million Instagram followers this week, after spending three days at various refugee camps in Lebanon.
The Grammy-winning singer visited camps in Rayak and Bekaa with UNICEF to meet with refugee children whose families fled the war in Syria.
Lipa, whose parents fled the conflict in the Balkans in 1992, said, “This is personal for me. My parents fled a war-torn region and built a life for themselves in a new place. And each one of the refugee children I met has parents just like my own, who have tried to make the best decisions they could for their families.
“You can read about the conditions or see the challenges on TV, but you don’t really feel the absolute dire circumstances for refugees from Syria until you see them for yourself,” she added in a released statement.
The star took to Instagram to share a series of photos from her visit, in which she can be seen smiling and laughing as children from the camp surround her.
She described the experience as “eye-opening” in a lengthy Instagram post and added, “I particularly want to speak up for refugees as I feel I have a personal connection to seeing people adapt to any circumstance they were put in because of conflict. No family or child chooses to leave their home. They all have dreams. They all deserve equality and a place to be able to live, learn and reach their full potential.”
The “One Kiss” singer — who is no stranger to the Middle East, having performed in Abu Dhabi in February 2018 — paid tribute to the strength of the children she met.
“I always believe in children as they are our future and we have to take care of them. It was a heartbreaking and emotional yet hopeful experience after seeing these kids still laugh and smile and make the most of a bad situation. I have experienced all first-hand the activities and opportunities UNICEF give to young people who have been left without a home because of the war in Syria and it’s nice to see that these children have a community where they feel safe and protected,” she said.
