A powerful photograph that apparently shows two young boys in Iraq expressing their solidarity with the people of Boston has gone viral this week.
Posted online Tuesday by Facebook group "America Loves Iraq", the photo is said to have been taken by Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT), an international organization of peace activists working in Iraq. Kevin Gosztola, of progressive news blogging site Firedoglake, was one of the first to surface the image online.
(Credit: Facebook/America Loves Iraq)
The two boys in the photo "understand far too well what it is like in the immediate aftermath of a terror attack," Gosztola wrote. "The boys not only stand in solidarity with the victims of the Boston explosions, but they also empathize because this is what they’ve experienced. Part of this message is being shared with Americans because they want them to know they understand the pain Americans are going through."
At least 33 people were killed and more than 160 were injured after a "wave of bombings" struck the Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Fallujah and Kirkuk on the same day as the Boston Marathon tragedy.
"We are all citizens of the world, and our pain can bring us together," Gosztola concluded, after pointing out just how much we all can learn from the compassion and grace shown by the children in the picture.
Sami Rasouli, founder and director of MPT, posted a similar photo on his Facebook wall this week:
(Credit: Facebook/Sami Rasouli)
"Dear our brothers and sisters in Boston, sorry for what happened to you. Violence is killing our children wherever it happens -- Redha & Omar, Children of Iraq, April 16, 2013," said the caption that accompanied this photograph.
"I am bursting with admiration for these children. I am so proud of them," wrote one Facebook user in response to Rasouli's moving snap.
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