Refugee tot dons a festive jumper after he and mum flee ISIS in Mosul … but children there need your help
Little Firas is a picture of happiness in his cosy snowman pullover as the family enjoys its newfound safety
DRESSED in a bright red winter hoody trimmed with pure white fur, nine-month-old Firas looks like a mini Father Christmas.
It’s the time of year when children around the world are at their most excited, preparing for a December full of presents, love and laughter.
But the only celebrating Firas’s mum Salwa will be doing is because she has managed to escape Mosul with her little boy.
They have found safety in a frontline hospital in northern Iraq and are no longer prisoners of the psychotic ISIS regime.
Firas’ little red jumper, with its giant snowman on the front, is just a coincidence.
Salwa was rummaging through a box of clothes donated from around the world and found the perfect item to keep her infant son warm.
She had no idea that in other more peaceful parts of the world, millions of people were preparing for Christmas.
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“I just wanted to make sure Firas didn’t get cold. It’s freezing here at night now, and we had to leave with just the clothes on our backs,” explained Salwa, 40.
She had managed to reach the Shikan Hospital, north east of Mosul, after escaping from her home with the rest of her family in the dead of night.
“There were seven of us in all, and we managed to get a neighbour and his friend to take us out in their cars.
"We were terrified we would get to a road block and be caught by Daesh (ISIS). They would certainly have killed us,” explained Salwa.
But despite being safe, the family face a bleak future. They left Mosul with nothing and don’t even know where they going to spend the night.
“We spent two years being terrified every single day. Ever since I gave birth to Firas I have been counting the days until we could get out of that terrible place.
"It is my home, but it did not feel like it in the end. Now though, I don’t know what we are going to do. We have no money and just these clothes,” added Salwa.
“I will have to beg people to help me and that makes me feel ashamed, but what other choice do I have?”
But you can help lessen the plight of desperate refugees like Salwa and little Firas by donating to The Sun's Smiles at Christmas appeal.
We're backing four amazing charities that are working to make this festive season a special one for needy kids.
One is the AMAR Foundation, which works to provide shelter and aid for displaced Iraqi families fleeing Islamic State's brutal reign of terror.
You can help bring a smile to the face of children in Mosul by donating at our JustGiving page .
Your donation – no matter how much you can spare – could help save the life of a youngster caught up in a conflict they know little about.
A £30 donation could feed a desperate family for one week.
But any amount will help give these war-scarred children a second chance at a happy life.
See below for the different ways you can help support the cause.
