The Real Story Behind the 'Heart-breaking' Image of a Syrian Child 'Surrendering' to Camera'.

The picture of the Syrian child above spread across social media the world over, this week, after it was tweeted by Nadia Abu Shaban’s, a photojournalist in Gaza.

The fear in the little girl’s eyes as she bit her lip to stop herself from crying has caused an outpouring of emotions. She has been so scarred by war that she raised her arms and  'surrendered to camera because she thought it was the barrel of a gun'. But the lack of further information on the picture caused  speculations that the image was fake, posed or taken in an unrelated situation.

But now, Osman Sağırlı, the Turkish photographer who took the photo has come forward to explain the real context behind it.

Osman Sağırlı told the BBC he took the photo in December last year at Atmeh refugee camp, Syria, near the Turkish border.

He said the child was a four-year-old girl called Hudea who was forced to flee fighting near her home in Hama with her mother and two siblings.

“I was using a telephoto lens and she thought it was a weapon,” Mr Sağırlı recounted.

"I  realised she was terrified after I took it, and looked at the picture, because she bit her lips and raised her hands. Normally kids run away, hide their faces or smile when they see a camera.”

He further told the BBC that suffering can most keenly be seen through children because they “reflect the feelings with their innocence”.


Please stop the Syrian killings and show the children the beauty they possess inside.