Last week, when I
opened my Facebook account plenty of my friends complained about a picture that
have been reverberated around the world. As I do not pay any attention to
laments on social media, I completely ignored this situation at first sight.
Surprisingly for me, in less than ten minutes everyone was sharing a shocking picture of a drowned Syrian boy.
This three-year-old boy
was found on a beach on The Turkey´s town of Bodrum. Within this distressing picture, people made comments about
this current situation. Despite the fact that I respect other people´s beliefs,
I am not that kind of person who approve sharing pictures tinged with violence or human suffering. By sharing those sort of things, community does
not help the other part involved. Instead, they feed people´s morbid side in a
considerably way. That is why whenever I see publications showing suffering or
any kind of violence, I try to hide them from my sight. This attitude, most of
the time, has driven me to be highly criticised by my friends because they
believe I am ignoring important issues. On my defense I should state that it is
not about ignoring current events. On the contrary, I am a very sensitive
person who is easily impressed.
This is
the image that echoed around the world the last weeks:
As the rest of community,
I could not turn a blind eye to this situation and I decided to search on the net about the toddler who was
carried to the shore by the sea. As I am not into political affairs, I only knew
that there is a war taking place in Syria since 2011. However, I did not know what is behind this
image and the war. I was unaware of the fact that people on those areas have
two options: migration or death. Imagine yourself in that situation. The country you have grown up is
involved in a conflict and you do not have any option but moving to another place (as in the case of THIS Kurdish boy called Aylan).
He and his family were trying to be safe of the conflicts when the boats
capsized and like him, many other people died (among them his 5-year-old
brother and his mother). His father, Abdullah, was the only one who survived.
An inner anguish overpowers me whenever I think about this man and the families
that lost their beloved ones trying to find a peaceful place to live.
Undoubtedely, this image clearly portrays the risks children
and families are taking in search of a better life. Not only do they risk their lives but also they are
treated badly by neighbouring countries. TV programs portray how cruel human
beings tend to be when it is about supporting people in need. Some officers
treat them as dogs not as human beings. It is heartbreaking to see how humanity
has declined.
Although this image fed the morbid side of specific persons,
there are still many other individuals who are keen to give a hand. By sharing
this picture, you are allowing migrants being helped by powerful people such as
polititians.
This picture has around one million shares on the social
media and thanks to that, people are aware
of the current problematic. Fortunately, this image has reached every corner of
the world and now there are many persons eager to help migrants in different
ways such as giving them a place to stay in. This happens behind the morbid side.
May, I really like your entry! I think it is inevitable not to deem that there is a morbid side behind the picture. I discovered the news more less in the same way that you and the first thing that came to my mind was: is it necessary to take a picture of a boy just to make people aware of the weight of the situation? Maybe I had a heart of stone for having thought that but it was not until I realized the seriousness of the situation that I changed my mind. Then I said: Yes, it is necessary! People around the world needed to know what Syrian immigrants were and are still facing.
ResponderEliminarWhat is more, I think that the photographer is another point to consider. It has been said that she put the baby on the shore just to have a more shocking picture; was the picture really arranged? because if that was the case, I think there was a morbid intention behind the picture.
May, your post is awesome! I have to say that I totally agree with you in everything you stated. It is sometimes inevitable to see things in the internet that produce that kind of impact on us. I have to say that I felt the same way as you did. I scrolled down as soon as I saw the picture and thought to myself "This is extremely morbid" and then I learnt about the back story and that made the difference. I still got the chills watching the picture but I know now that our little grain of sand can make the difference. We need to be aware of the significant events that are happening in our society and try to change our way of thinking.
ResponderEliminarSomething else, if what Sole said is true, I, too, believe that it is extremely morbid and outrageous. Hope it's not!
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ResponderEliminarI think that after reading most of the blogs, I can say that this topic has coused the same impression on us. Consequences of war are terrrible, and dealing with them is not easy!! To see how lifes are lost without sense, is horrifying!!!!
ResponderEliminarMay, I totally agree with you on the fact that sharing that sorrowful photograph shows a bizarre and morbid side we all human beings have but not everybody decides to exploit. The mere fact of reposting a catching picture without being able to establish a sensible critic or an accurate point of view about the situation taking place in Asia made me feel as sad as I felt when I saw the photograph for the first time.
ResponderEliminarIt is not needless to say that having had the opportunity of working with you in the presentation about "The Kite Runner" made us go deep into the political, social and religious problems people in Asia have been involved in the last decades. I think that work not only helped us to comprehend the way in which those societies lived but also it functioned as previous knowledge to understand better the unfair conditions Syrian people go through nowadays.
May, your point of view on this issue is quite enriching. I identify myself with you in the sense we are sensitive people who are easily impressed. I have also been criticized by the mere fact that i tried to scroll down quickly pictures of people suffering from my facebook account. But the truth is that i don't do that with the purpose of ignoring current events, i do that just because of the reason aforementioned. Moreover, i really liked the way you highlighted the morbid side of this picture. I also deem the picture as being really dismal. But without the spread of this picture, people wouldn't be able to become aware of what is happening in our world. I have faith that these dilemmas will turn out in the end if people take action.
ResponderEliminarMay, I think that in general people like seeing gruesome pictures or situations. I say in general because there is always a person next to a car accident or a crime; I think it is part of human nature. Back to this poor kid picture I consider this as a way of calling some people´s attention so as to make them do anything for the Syryan who are suffering the war consequences. Maybe, it is not the best option because this is a very heartbreaking picture and I wouldn´t use it at all. Sometimes, we have to see this kind of pictures to be aware of what is going on around us.
ResponderEliminar