BEIRUT, March 11 (Xinhua) -- An official with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Monday called on all parties with influence to make peace and put an end to the suffering of Syrian children in their country.
"We call once again upon all parties and anyone with influence to make peace happen now and not tomorrow," said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Cappelaere said that around 5 million Syrian children were born since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011.
"These children have a bleak future with the absence of a political solution to a senseless war," he said.
Cappelaere said that many of these children were born from families associated with extremists, but "these children are not terrorists. They are entitled to childhood and they deserve a fair chance in life."
Cappelaere said that the UNICEF will continue providing support to Syrian children inside Syria and in hosting countries.
Cappelaere's remarks came during an event held by UNICEF to launch its first children's songs album, marking eight years since the start of the war in Syria.
The songs are all-time regional favorites written and composed by the world-famous composer Elias Rahbani during the war in Lebanon.
With generous support from the EU Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis, the EU "Madad" Fund, UNICEF and Jad Rahbani, son of Elias Rahbani, held workshops for nearly 300 children, including children with disabilities, to record the re-arranged version of the songs.
The workshops included Jordanian, Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Turkish children.
Cappelaere said that the 11 songs for children are meant to bring a little of childhood back for 8 million Syrian children who are in dire need of basic humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, Jad Rahbani, who is also a composer and producer, said that the songs ideas were meant to create for Syrian children a space for love, peace and happiness.
"We contributed with a small thing to create hope and happiness for these children and a kind of a new excitement for these kids," he told Xinhua.
Rahbani explained that he went along with a team to camps hosting Syrian refugees to teach them these songs.
"We picked some of the best voices and we sent them to studios all over the world to record these songs. They did it naturally and the result was above expectations," he said.
