Tyson Pesnell

Syrian Refugee Crisis

Everywhere we look in the world there is tragedy. There never seems to be an end to the human pain and suffering that has taken place, and will take place in the future. In the world right now there are tragedies happening all around us. In Paris recently over 100 people were killed in a multiple terrorist attacks. In Syria the same terrorist group is forcing hundreds of people to leave with nothing more than what they can carry on their backs. Luckily, there are always people that are willing to help in these times of sadness. People who realize that they can do a little bit to help those who have lost most of their lives. These are the people that make the difference when it comes to sadness and human tragedy.

The picture that I chose has a lot of things to notice but not a whole lot of info to go with it. The picture shows a young girl crying in the arms of a rescuer. There is water in the background and so we know that the girl just finished a trip on a dinghy. In the background we also see what looks to be the father of the girl but we don’t know that for sure. The picture is from an article from the BBC entitled “Donald Trump: I would send Syrian refugees home.” The caption of the picture says “A Syrian child is rescued from a dinghy in Greece.” That is the little info that we have form this picture. The article doesn’t explain more about the article other than that little caption.

In the picture there are a lot of things to notice at first glance. One of the first things I noticed is the child that the young woman is carrying and comforting. This may be the focal point of the whole picture. It is obvious that the child is distressed and has had a long, hard journey from Syria. This child has almost surely seen more suffering and tragedy than you or I may see in our entire lives. With that I mind, it is easy to see why she would be so distressed. This child has seen much and also more than likely suffered much herself. When did she last have a bed to sleep in? Fresh clothes? A hot cooked mean? Or maybe even any meal for that matter. With these factors in mind it is not hard to imagine what this girl is going through even if we don’t understand completely what it is like.
One of the points that is not noticed at first but that you can clearly see in the back is what looks like the father walking onto the shore himself. We don’t know exactly what has happened but it is safe to say that he has undergone a long and hard journey himself. In fact, the father may not have anything else but the possessions that he is carrying on his back and the girl that seems to be his daughter. That is very humbling thought that may be true. There are a lot of things to speculate about what could have happened but we do know that the journey was hard and that the lives of the father and daughter have been changed forever.

One of the last things to notice is the help that the father and the daughter are receiving. The woman carrying the young girl seems to be very calm. She is holding the girl close and trying to give her comfort even though it is obvious that the child is not in a comfortable situation. It made me think of how different this scene would have been without the “helper” there. Would the child and father even be there if they had not received any help from others around them? How different would this crisis in Syria be if there was nobody willing to offer a helping hand?

It is people like this woman that make all the difference when tragedy hits. People that are willing to give up their time and energy to go out and try to make a difference in the lives of others that are in much less favorable circumstances. The picture that I chose is very tragic. It is very sad to see people that have to leave their homes and struggle to survive. It is hard to see the fear and sadness that is apparent in such a small child. But there is a little bit of comfort in knowing that whenever sadness, struggles, or conflict occur, there are always going to be people there that are willing to help.