Omran Daqneesh, aged 5, sits dazed and confused after being severely injured and pulled from under the rubble after an airstrike hit his home and his family in Syria. All his family members miraculously survived, but the heartbreaking image of the young boy is one that leaves a mark on our hearts and minds.
According to reports the Aleppo Media Centre said the pictures of Omran had been taken in the rebel-held Qaterji district following Russian air strikes that had in total killed at least three people and injured 12 others. However, the wars on Syria have left an unprecedented amount of innocent civilians, mainly children, to bear the brunt of the unjustified bloodshed.
The video which has been shared on social media and the mainstream media, shows little Omran being carried out of a damaged building by a medic and then placed on a seat in the back of an ambulance, covered in dust and with a blood-covered face. Omran is then left sitting quietly, appearing stunned and disturbed by the ordeal. He runs his hand over his face and looks at the blood before wiping it away.
Imagine if this was your child? As a mother, seeing images like this is traumatic, we feel helpless and want to raise more awareness within the mainstream media that innocent children should not have to pay the price for wars.
Are these sweet, innocent children the terrorists that states have united against in waging a war on? No little soul should have to go through this, they are innocent kids and it is our responsibility that the media reports and highlights this trauma to raise awareness so that more can be done to help.
According to the UN more than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria, with a further 11 million people displaced by the conflict.
Throughout the years we have seen countless images of children such as Aylan Kurdi who was a refugee Syrian child in red t-shirts and navy shorts become symbols of the atrocities that are prevalent. Outrage and public outpouring of condemnation against the war have occurred but then we go through the deafening silence. How can the world forget? This war has to stop now.
One would expect the news of Omran Daqneesh to be on every mainstream news channel but it gets side lined between the Olympics coverage. Would this happen if the same tragedy had occurred in another part of the world? We need to show the same compassion and the international community, UN and government officials need to step up and put an end to this.
I don't want to be seeing another heart rendering image of a child whether Omran, Aylan or any other Syrian child being so badly affected and yet the world remains silent and nothing gets done to stop it. Unfortunately, it seems inevitable that at this rate if nothing is done to stop the war on Syria, the future looks uncertain and one that may just hold another image that will forever haunt our hearts.