Bekaa Valley , Lebanon ( CNN ) -- I never imagined I would find myself in Lebanon , on the outskirts of the brutal civil war in Syria . As a 32-year-old woman from Chicago , I did n't know what to expect . When I got on the plane last week , it seemed that U.S. or allied airstrikes on Syria were imminent , and honestly , it was pretty scary . But the fear I felt about the possibility of airstrikes was put into perspective when I met 7-year-old Abdel in a Syrian refugee camp on the Lebanese border with Syria . I will never forget the first time I looked into his eyes . The sadness and fear I saw there were years beyond his age , reflecting the extreme violence and horror he has witnessed -- sights and sounds of war that most of the world will only see in the movies . Gupta : At refugee camp , nothing makes sense . For the seven days I was there , most of the kids in the camp followed us in a gaggle , circling us at times , giggling and practicing their English -- `` hello '' and `` thank you . '' They loved to see their images on my camera 's display screen after I took their picture .
CNN producer Danielle Dellorto spent a week at a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon . 7-year-old Abdel 's story dramatizes the pain , worry , alienation that refugees face . Abdel left behind comforts of home ; in a 10-by-10 tent , he 's `` the man of the house '' He 's painfully thin ; he says his last meal , just rice , was a day ago .