Syria and other parts of the Middle East have been terrorized by air strikes for more than a year in efforts to detain and destroy many ISIL, a terrorist group that has arisen in recent months to have an impact and fame that reaches around the globe, bases and other terrorist targets.  On September 29, 2016, “coalition military forces conducted 17 strikes using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets” (US Central Command).  These air strikes affected many civilians as well; destroying their homes and their livelihoods, killing loved ones and friends.  After the airstrikes, many were left wounded and many others were left for dead.  Those who were saved from the debris that was left over after the dust cleared were evacuated, but very few left the scene unscathed.  This picture shows only a few of the many individuals that were affected.  This is not just a photograph, however, it is a picture that tells the story of the grief and the devastation many are facing in these parts of the world on a day to day basis.  There are a total of four people that are depicted in the van of the image above: a young boy, a man, a person lying on the floor of the van, and the driver.  Each individual person has seen different things and yet some of the same things over the past twenty-four hours.  Therefore, each one has something to add to the story that lies behind this picture.  

One of the first things that caught my eye was the bright red color of the blood that streams down the little boy’s face onto his shirt as well as the man’s face.  The presence of blood usually is not a sign that something good has occurred.  Rather, blood is typically seen as a sign for concern, a sign of hurt, a sign of devastation even a sign of death.  The fact that the boy’s face is covered in this bright red mess of blood means that he has seen and been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours (the time period in which these airstrikes occurred) (US Central Command).  He has seen the death of his neighbors, friends and family members, he has seen the destruction and detestation of the buildings and streets he used to run and play in and he has seen, and experienced, hurt both physically and emotionally.  The fact that the blood is such a bright color against his face definitely draws the attention of the viewer straight to this young boy.   The blood dripping down his face covers some of the damages done by the debris from the missile strikes and explosions and definitely draws the viewer’s attention, but the boy’s face tells us something even more about what he will see.  If the viewer were to draw a line down the middle of young boy’s face, they could see the contrast between two different images.  By covering the picture to the left of the line, the viewer would see the blood covered face and blood stained shirt of the boy.  This is a picture of war and destruction that has terrorized this little boy’s past and present.  

Now cover the picture to the right of the line.  It looks like a completely different image.  The boy’s face is not covered in blood, his hand is not stretched out and there is not a large blood stain covering the boy’s shirt.  His face is clean, lit up and he looks relaxed.  This represents the boy’s future.  His future is free of this destruction and death and hurt, rather it is full of life and joy and success.  But the boy’s face is not the only thing that tells the story of this image.  Looking at more than just the little boy’s face, one can see the form of the young boy’s hand is stretched out palm upwards.  But he is not just reaching out his hand in a random direction, he is reaching out toward the man behind the camera as if he is asking for help.  He is asking for help to get away from the disaster and terror and death he has seen at such a tender age.  However, the little boy could be doing just the opposite.  He may not be asking for help from behind the camera, but offering help to the man taking the picture.  This little boy has been helped into the van and has had a hand reached out to him to drive him away from the death and destruction caused by the airstrikes.  He could be offering the same help he has received to others.  The boy is not the only person in this picture that has experienced the hurt and destruction of the past twenty-four hours.  

Now take your eye from the boy to the man’s.  It is covered in blood and sweat, full of tension as if he is trying to say something but nothing is coming out.  He, like the young boy, whom I can only assume is his son, has seen a lot happen in the last twenty-four hours. But his gaze is what is most intriguing.  The man’s line of sight is directed toward the young boy sitting opposite of him.  He looks as if he wanted to say something to him, but is mesmerized by the little boy’s action of reaching out his hand toward the camera.  The man, like the rest of the world, has become mesmerized by the look on this young boy’s bloodied up face and the reach of his blood drenched hand.   

Also, look at the contrast of the man’s arms.  Closer to his shoulder, there appears to be a darker patch of skin as if the man had used baby powder on just the parts of his arm below his shoulder.  That is not a tan line, however, the lower portion of his arm is covered in dust from the fallen buildings from the air strikes and the darker portion closer to his shoulder is where his shirt was covering.  This man’s arms are a different color from all of the dust and debris… that just shows just how much damage was done by these air strikes.   The man’s arms have a coat of white dust covering them most likely from the falling of the buildings and the ashes from the fire.

Lastly, as for the person that is lying on the floor of the van, we cannot assume much about them such as their gender, age or medical condition.  We can however assume that the person is still alive.  By their form. We know this person is still alive by the way that they are grasping the edge of the bench on which the young boy is sitting. With the thumb on the top and the rest of the fingers below, if the person was dead, the hand would not rest in that way on this bench.  The second thing can assume about this person is that they have been badly hurt or traumatized.  The man and the boy have also been hurt and traumatized by the events that have unfolded, but both of them are sitting up.  This person, however is lying down in the middle of the back of the van, covered by a blanket, holding on for dear life almost to this bench.  We can only assume these actions mean that the person is not able to sit up due to the injuries and trauma sustained from the damage done by the air strikes. 

Most of this picture is focused around that one little boy.  This little boy is the one that is the most lit up by the sunlight protruding from the back of the van, the bright blue and green shirt on he has on, the look he is giving the camera lens, the man is looking directly at the boy and the bright red blood that is covering the boy’s face all draw the viewer’s eyes directly towards him.  This young, bloody, sad little boy turns out to be the focal point of this picture.  He tells the largest portion of the story that is going on behind this photograph, and he is all over the News channels.  Why? This little boy reaches out to the masses as a symbol of what is going on over in Syria and several other middle eastern countries today.  Since he is such a young child being exposed to so much trauma, destruction and death, it hits the people of the world on a level of sympathy more so than an adult male possibly would.  Children, especially hurt and devastated children, have a power on people that it can be difficult to even try to explain.  

The air strikes in Syria and other parts of the middle east are most likely going to continue and more pictures like the one of the little boy above will be broadcasted on news stations all over the world.  New pictures of devastation of different towns and different individuals that have seen death and destruction of their livelihoods and loved ones.  Each one will tell a different story of the different things these individuals have seen, but the focal point of all of them are the hurt that the terrors have caused.  
