This is Omran Daqneesh. He is five years old and has never known anything but war. He was injured on Wednesday night in the latest bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Omran was pulled from the rubble of his home in the Qaterji neighborhood and rushed to a hospital known to activists as M10. A video of him, wiping away dust in confusion and appearing bewildered, was shared by the Aleppo Media Centre (AMC). It has since been viewed more than 60,000 times.
A photograph of Omran sitting in the back of the ambulance was also shared widely after it was tweeted by Daily Telegraph journalist Raf Sanchez. Doctors at the hospital – referred to as M10 to prevent it being targeted by airstrikes – told the newspaper Omran was one of 12 children under the age of 15 they treated that evening.
His mother and father, as well as his three siblings — aged one, six, and 11 years old — were pulled from the rubble after the airstrike landed around 7.20 p.m., shortly before the evening call to prayer.
Along with his family, Omran was released from hospital after physicians had treated his head injury.
Photojournalist Mahmoud Raslan, who took the original image, told the Associated Press that White Helmet volunteer rescue workers at the scene had passed along three lifeless bodies before they reached Omran. "We were passing them from one balcony to the other," he said.
Thousands of people have now shared Raslan's image on Twitter.
Many Syrians started tweeted edited photographs placing Omran into situations on the world stage.
Many also tweeted their sadness at how images of Syrian children – such as Omran or Aylan Kurdi – often become "icons" for moments, capturing the social media world's attention, only to be forgotten.
The image comes amid brutal fighting in the city between the rebels, and Iranian and Russian-backed government troops. The city has vital strategic and symbolic value for both sides. As a result, it has been bitterly contested, and civilians have been repeatedly caught in the middle of the ensuing "Mexican stand-off", as it was described to BuzzFeed News.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 233 civilians have been killed in Aleppo city in the past two weeks alone.
Meanwhile, the United Nation's envoy to Syria has suspended its humanitarian task force as the fighting continues. Stefan de Mistura said no aid had reached the city for a month, and urged international powers to come to an agreement for the 48-hour pause of hostilities.
In the few hours since the photograph of Omran was shared, more children have been injured by fighting in the city. A video taken from a hospital in the city showed doctors frantically working on a child, only for him to die.
This Is Why The Syrian Rebels' Takeover Of Aleppo Matters So Much
via BuzzFeed - World http://ift.tt/2b1vY8z
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment