On Wedenesday, an airstrike took place in Aleppo and one of the injured victims of the ongoing Syrian conflict is 5 year old Omran Daqneesh. The Aleppo Media Center was able to relaese of the captured photo of the rescued boy and has created quite a stir all over when it was posted on You Tube. The photo also made it in news papers worldwide and has created an impact that has derived the global attention towards the war that is transpiring in Syria.
In a report via Goats and Soda: Stories of Life in A Changing World, an eye-opening statement was relived by Washington Post Director of Photography Mary Ann Golon, "It's heartbreaking, compelling, beautifully composed, scary." She also added a statement that just clenches every parent's heart saying, "Any mother in the world would want to scoop him up and take care of him."
This is not the first case that such excruciatingly painful pictures of children becoming the greatest casulaties of war, have been exposed in media. Another photo of a boy that garnered the same kind of attention form the world is that of Alan Kurdi.
Alan Kurdi, a 3 year old Syrian boy who actually drowned when his family tried to escape the tragedy of the Syrian war off to perhaps a better situation in Greece. The photo sparked compassion amongst various organizations worldwide that responded to aide the victims of the Syrian war. One of which is the Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organization that donated $2.3 million after Kurdi's image was shown all over media.
Another organization that responded is Save The Children, where Vice President for Humanitarian Response Greg Ramm, addressed that the photo of the Syrian boys did make a difference."It's reminded the world of the suffering inside Syria. It has motivated people to help. And it does put pressure on politicians."
The world has seen enough wreckage in the aftermath of political conflicts and on going strife from wars waged for reasons that at times are beyond human understanding. It is a very unfortunate reality that it's toll has to be delivered via photos of grief stricken children traumatized by the effects of war. Photos, signed, sealed and delivered to hold hearts and clench it to enough to a breaking point and entice compassion to take over. If it is not enough pain already to witness it on televisions, social media and the internet, one can only imagine the devastating effects of having to witness it first hand.
To rise above such human tragedies such as war may just be bearable for those of age, those with greater understanding and endurance, those with whom has taken the responsibility of protecting the younger ones from war's affliction. But what of the children in places such as Syria , Afghanistan, and Iraq? Much has to be done, much has to be duscussed, much has to be realized. War - it is a victory for who really? To divide and conquer entails damage that can never be compensated by the victory of whoever wins the battle. A harsh reality that should shake the heads of world leaders, before they can offer to shake hands.
