Photos of an injured Syrian girl named Aya have gone viral. The photo shows Aya with blood trickling down her forehead and nose, covered in dust, looking terrified as she calls out to her father.
“The roof fell on us”
The photo and video of the 8-year-old was shared online by Talbiseh Media Center, an activist group in Syria.
In the video, a man can be heard talking to her, asking for her name. She responds with “Aya,” and then cries. The man then asks her where she was when it happened, and Aya replies with “At home but the roof fell on us.”
She then says “Oh Daddy, Daddy, come.” She was crying the entire time while looking for her father.
Hospital staff can be seen attending to her wounds and trying to get her cleaned up, while she kept crying the entire time.
Two people killed and 30 people wounded
According to reports, an airstrike hit their home in Talbiseh. Activists have reported that 2 people were killed and that 30 people have been wounded in three separate airstrikes that were targeted towards residential areas of their town.
Both of Aya’s parents as well as three of her siblings were wounded in the airstrike.
Thankfully, Aya has been reunited with her family and all of them are doing well. According to a spokesperson from Talbiseh Media Center, their family is currently looking for a place to stay since their home has been destroyed by the airstrike.
You can watch the video of Aya below:
The impact of the Syrian War
The impact of the ongoing war in Syria has been widespread. Powerful images of the casualties of war, mostly children, have gone viral. Who can forget the haunting image of the Syrian toddler that drowned, and the photo of the bloodied Syrian boy?
It’s very important for us to appreciate the peace that we have right now. We also need to remind our children to be thankful for what they have, since like what happened to Aya, everything could be gone in an instant. Not only was their home lost in the war, but their entire town was also devastated. Thankfully, she and her family survived, but not the same can be said about all the victims of the war in Syria.
What you can do to help
The war has raged on for more than five years, and sadly, there are no signs that it will be ending soon. If you wish to help, you can do so through Save the Children, an organization that seeks to protect children from harm, and transform children’s lives for the better.
You can also volunteer for other organizations through the Red Cross and other similar organizations. Remember, every little bit of help that you can give means a lot to the children as well as the families of the victims in Syria. It’s also a good way to keep your kids aware about what’s going on in the world, and to teach them the value of helping others that are in need.
Sources: CNN.com, Telegraph.co.uk