Can one photo help end a war?
That’s what people are wondering about the image of a little Syrian boy covered head to toe in a thick layer of dust, his face bloodied, as he sits in a bright orange chair.
His name is Omran Daqneesh and he’s 5. On Wednesday, he was rescued from a building in Aleppo hit by an air strike. His bare feet dangling over the edge of his seat, he looks stunned and dazed.
The image was pulled from a YouTube video posted by the Aleppo Media Center and published in news reports that same day. Since then it has made global headlines — bringing new attention to the ongoing agonies of the Syrian conflict.
he reaction to Kurdi’s image gives some indications of what a photo can do. It galvanized Europeans to urge their governments to open their doors to more refugees, as reported by the BBC, and sparked an outpouring of global giving.
Mercy Corps, an international group that provides humanitarian aid to Syrians, saw $2.3 million in donations in the month after Kurdi’s image was first shared, says communications officer Christy Delafield. By comparison, the group raised $4.5 million in the prior four years.
Similar increases were reported by groups like World Vision, UNHCR and Islamic Relief, according to Deutsche Welle, a German broadcasting company.
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