Six-Year-Old New York Boy Pens Moving Letter To Obama, Offers Home To Syrian Refugee: ‘He’ll Be Our Brother’
A 6-year-old New York boy’s moving letter to President Obama has prompted a rousing response on the internet.
In August, the world was witness to a powerful and harrowing image of a Syrian boy, Omran Daqneesh, who was left bloodied and dazed after an air strike in the war-torn region. Omran’s photos shook the world and instantly became a symbol of the suffering endured by the Syrian people because of the country’s relentless civil war which has now entered its sixth year. The photograph prompted world leaders to once again assess the ground reality in Syria, intensifying calls for a cease-fire.
Doctor in #Aleppo just sent this photo of a dazed child who survived an airstrike pic.twitter.com/IHLDc6KPh8
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) August 17, 2016
But for Alex, a 6-year-old who lives in suburban New York with his parents and a little sister, the photos of Omran covered in dust had a different meaning altogether. Concerned for the well-being of someone who was the same age as him, Alex wanted to know if Omran’s future was in safe hands, reports BBC News.
Not knowing what to do, Alex decided to write a letter to Obama, asking him to find Omran and bring him home. In a deeply moving letter, the 6-year-old writes that his family would be happy to receive Omran with “flags, flowers, and balloons” and that he would share his bike and toys with the Syrian boy.
His letter was published in full by the White House and can be read below.
“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 [my home]?” the New York boy begins the letter.
“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 won’t bring toys and doesn’t 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. I will teach him additions and subtractions in math. And he [can] smell Catherine’s lip gloss penguin which is green. She doesn’t let anyone touch it.”
The letter was shared by President Obama during the United Nations Leaders Summit on Refugees this week, where he told the gathered leaders that the world needed to show the same degree of love and warmth to Syrian refugees as Alex. In a politically caustic environment where fear of the “other” has regularly shaped the public discourse, Obama said that Alex’s letter showed that only love towards fellow human beings could bring us all together.
“The humanity that a young child can display, who hasn’t learned to be cynical, or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where they’re from, or how they look, or how they pray, and who just understands the notion of treating somebody that is like him with compassion, with kindness — we can all learn from Alex.”
The video itself has gone on to be shared more than 120,000 times at the time of writing on Facebook, and people, while generally reserving their praise for Obama, heaped praise on Alex.
“A six year old who has more humanity, love, and understanding than most adults. Kudos to his parents,” one woman wrote.
[Featured Image by The White House/YouTube]
