Ricky Martin meets with children in Lebanon
The 44-year-old Puerto Rican spoke during a visit to Lebanon with UNICEF to meet Syrian refugee children.
“At this point what we want is to make sure children get their rights. Some children unfortunately are not going to school,’’ he said Thursday in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press in Minnieh, north Lebanon. News of the visit was released by UNICEF on Friday because of an embargo. The singer met with Syrian children in Zahleh, in the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, and in the Minnieh informal settlement, near the northern city of Tripoli, the following day.
The star, whose charity and advocacy work has focused on combating child labor and human trafficking, said he was moved by a Syrian refugee from Homs he met in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. He says the 11-year-old refugee, named Batoul, is “working in agriculture, 12 hours a day. And she’s getting paid with water.’’
“This is happening to our kids. This is happening to our future generation,’’ he said.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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