War is something that every person has seen whether they were involved in it or watch the devastation from afar. It has been a part of humanity for as long ago as we can date back too and has shaped how humans has come to be and continues to shape us in our modern day. We can all agree that it strikes deep inside of us when we see the pain and suffering caused by this senseless violence. One of the more recent ones happening as you read this is the Syrian Civil War. This conflict that has been going on since 2011, has caused the deaths of over 300,000 people and has also displaced another 5,000,000 in the process. It is a scene that almost has no good ending at this point. An image started circulating on the internet and news media from this war of a small boy in an ambulance that was covered in dirt and blood with this blank look of despair on his face. Without an end in sight to this conflict, images like this one will continue be brought into the public eye until we decide to put an end to things once and for all. This image strikes all of us not because of the dirt and blood that covers him but because he no older than 10 years old. If this little boy were replaced with a large man, then this image would have the significance it does as a man can defend himself while this child is defense-less against the horrors around him. Through this image with the immediate dangers that he has encountered, we as people and human beings connect with this boy and feel a duty to try our best to protect him from these dangers he has faced. 

This little boy named Omran is a constant reminder of what conflict brings with it and how nobody is safe from it. He is so small compared to the chair and equipment in the ambulance. With his blood and dirt covered face we feel sympathetic and angry that something like this can happen to someone of his size. He has a blank stare on his face that destroys you on the inside where we always associate children with happiness and laughter. This child is so familiar to all of us as we see little kids running around and with their parents almost daily without any thought of it. For me, he reminds me of my 4-year-old neighbor who would always be playing in his front yard when I came home from work or school each day. From his small size to his hair and even clothes, they are both so similar and so different in many ways. I cannot possibly imagine seeing my neighbor in his situation and being covered in blood with his look of nothing on his face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a look other than happiness and smiles in all my time of knowing him. But for Omran, all we can tell about him is a life filled with sorrow and grieving. We all feel responsible and guilty simply for his small size and the overall fact that he is covered in dirt and blood and how we cannot even imagine the terrible things he has seen and gone through.

When first looking at this image, I see this boy covered in blood and dirt who is way too young to be fighting or involved in any violence. When comparing the boy to the size of the chairs and equipment in the ambulance it is evident how small he really is as he does not take up the whole chair. He is also about the same size as the first aid kit that is on the wall besides him. He has obviously seen the face of danger as he is covered in all this blood and dirt but we cannot clearly see in the image if the blood is he or if he has been injured at all. For all we know the blood could be from a random person or it could be the blood of his mother, father, or maybe a sibling. From the image, we have seen, the child is sitting in this large ambulance alone with no one around him. His body language is somewhat alarming as he is sitting there calmly with his hands in his lap and a blank stare on his face. The blood and dirt that covers him doesn’t seem to bother him as he sits there quietly with no attempt to whip off his face. Everything in the ambulance is colored very brightly in mainly orange and white while the boy has a dark green shirt on and dark shorts while being covered in dirt and blood from his head to his toes. This catches our eye and makes us focus on him because of the vast color difference between him and the rest of the ambulance. 

This little boy from Syrian hits all of us in different ways but I feel that this picture connects all of us to him in one way or another. From his blooded and dirty body to his small size in comparison his surroundings we feel a need to protect him from these vast dangers he has faced. It can also make us feel for loved ones and how we all want them to be safe and not put in his position. I think this little boy and his image is a powerful statement to the atrocities of this ongoing war and all wars like it. Omran didn’t choose to be thrust into this violence and there is no way of telling if he has been left an orphan from this war or what his current situation is. He along millions of other people have been greatly affected by these events and this child is a clear sign that this conflict has been continuing for far too long. This picture and all these devastating images from this war serve as a calling for other countries and us as human beings to put an end to this senseless violence in the country of Syria and in places of dispute all around the world. It should be over duty as people to stop and prevent this violence so children and people don’t have to witness the pain and suffering that fighting brings with it.

This child who was covered in blood and dirt while sitting in an ambulance has brought wide spread attention to a much-needed topic that is the Syrian Civil War. With the blank stare on his face and calm posture he brought things to the light. He was the center of the attention as he, in dark and dirtied cloths, sat around bright colors that he just didn’t fit in with. Essentially this boy makes me and countless others think of the little ones in our lives and how we would never stand for them to be in his position. The horrid things that he has lived through are such that they will stay with him forever and haunt him for the rest of his life whether he remains in Syria or is lucky enough to escape and find peace. He has made such a huge impact on the whole world not simply because he is another victim of violence but because he is defenseless child who was thrust into it. When war is brought upon a greater stage, Omran and images like his are on the front page of reasons why the violence should be ended once in for all.