As the world was left paralysed by shocking images of Omran Daqneesh caked in blood and dust after he survived an air strike in war torn Syria last month, a six-year-old boy in the US has sprung into action and offered friendship and a home to the boy in the ambulance.
The White House published a heartwarming video of New Yorker, Alex, reading his letter to President Barack Obama pleading with him to give the Syrian child a home. Obama shared the letter with global leaders earlier this week as they convened to try and find a solution to the refugee crisis.
The letter says: Dear President Obama, Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria? Can you please go get him and bring him to our home? Park in the driveway or on the street and we will be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers, and balloons.
We will give him a family and he will be our brother. Catherine, my little sister, will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him. In my school, I have a friend from Syria, Omar, and I will introduce him to Omar. We can all play together. We can invite him to birthday parties and he will teach us another language. We can teach him English too, just like my friend Aoto from Japan.
Please tell him that his brother will be Alex who is a very kind boy, just like him. Since he wont bring toys and doesnt have toys Catherine will share her big blue stripy white bunny. And I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it.
The video cuts to Obama as he reads out the letter to people who have the power to make change happen. Continuing with Alexs words, he says: I will teach him additions and subtractions [in maths].
The letter continues: And he [can] smell Catherines lip gloss penguin which is green. She doesnt let anyone touch it.
As Obama presented Alexs plea, he said: He teaches us a lot. The humanity that a young child can display, who hasnt learned to be cynical or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where theyre from, or how they look, or how they pray. We can all learn from Alex.
According to the UNs Refugee Agency, UNHCR, more than 65.3 million people were displaced worldwide by the end of 2015. Most refugees come from Syria, which has been ravaged by a five-year war which continues to this day. By the end of last year, some 4.9 million refugees came from Syria.
Afghanistan is the second-largest source of refugees, followed by Somalia and South Sudan.
Alex received widespread praise for his letter on social media. A six-year-old who has more humanity, love and understanding than most adults, wrote Amanda Keller. Kudos to his parents and I know the world will see more great things coming from Alex.
Another commentator on Facebook, Syed Mahmood Kazmi wrote: Incredibly powerful! We must open our hearts and doors to refugees. Children arent migrants or refugees. Theyre children first.
