The Toy Smuggler of Aleppo: How One Man Can Bring Joy to Syria’s Children

Santa Claus may come to town only once a year, but the Toy Smuggler of Aleppo comes, bearing gifts, whenever he gets a chance. With over three million refugees fleeing Syria, few people are trying to go into the country. Rami Adham is an exception. Every two months the Syrian native flies into Aleppo from his home in Finland and brings joy to the faces of Syria’s children. In the last four years, he has delivered thousands of dolls, teddies and puppets.

“That first time, we went to a refugee camp near the border. We’d brought food, but when we started giving away the toys, it created a huge fuss. Kids were coming from all over. I realised they weren’t thinking about food – they just wanted a toy,” Adham told Telegraph.The toy smugglers didn’t stop at just bringing gifts for the kids, he has also started a page on GoFundMe where he is requesting people to pledge any financial support they can for these children, whose lives remain at perpetual risk with airstrikes bombing their cities.

“The money I’m raising will go to building schools inside Syria close to Turkish borders where it is safe from constant bombing,” Adham writes on his GoFundMe page. Watch the AJ+ video below to see how Adham paints smiles on children’s faces.

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