Aylan Kurdi lying face down in the sand on a Turkish beach, Omran Daqneesh, caked in dust, dazed and unaware of his injuries, Kim, the little-naked girl screaming after napalm bomb attack on her village in Vietnam in 1972.
These images will remain in our minds forever. They left us all seething over the futility of war and fighting.
Unfortunately, pictures of children have turned into the most powerful portrayal of the human cost war and suffering. And now a young Kashmiri boy, seen wailing at the death of his best friend, has turned into a symbol of the ongoing strife in Jammu and Kashmir.
The picture snapped by Javed Dar was shared on Facebook by rights activist Khurram Parvez with the following caption:Khoon kay dhabay dulain gay kitni barsaaton kay baad..”
Which translates into, “How many rains will it take to wash away the blood stains.” a quote of Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz.
The boy is 9-year-old Burhan Fayaz, caught inconsolably crying at the funeral of his friend Amir Nazir, who was killed in an alleged encounter by Indian security forces, in Padgampora of Pulwama, South Kashmir.
The HT report states that despite being warned, Amir, along with other locals ran towards an encounter to stop the operation and let militants escape.
Amir was like my brother. Who will I play with now, a grieving Burhan told the HT.
A Kashmiri blog site (Life in Kashmir) penned a moving poem titled ‘A Tribute To The Innocent Face’ on the picture of the anguished boy.
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Let the world answer his tears
Let the world watch his heart break
Let the world listen to his cries
Let the world see his innocence
Let the world know what he had lost
Isnt it time for him to play?
But he is crying for his players
Who had fallen to the stray bullets
Of those bloody stray dogs.
They say we stand for peace!
Peace! that comes with roars of GUNS
The World is a mute spectator
To all his cries n scream
To all tears and rage
Broken hearted he stands
Goodbye, for now, my friend
With his intentions,
To strive for vengeance.
This is how a rebel is born
From a dormant volcano,
Emitting out lava heat.
The Article First Appeared In Indiatimes
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