It’s Time for Their Voices to be Heard.

For many years now, countries like Syria, Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan have been quietly suffering with little to no media coverage to bring attention to their hardships. One event in particular that stood out to many people globally was when the body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee was found washed up on shore in Turkey. Many journalists and news outlets took to the media with this horrific news to put a spotlight on just how much refugees are suffering from political and economical crises.

Journalism is an industry that has always found itself to be controversial with the stories and news that are posted. The benefits of releasing the tragic occurrence of this three-year-old boy are simply to raise more attention internationally to the political trauma Syrian refugees are put through daily. The deliverance of this photo in the news serves as an eye-opening moment for viewers worldwide to recognize the unfortunate reality of refugees attempting to reach asylum.

On the other hand, the drawbacks of publishing this graphic photo are receiving criticism from readers regarding publicizing such a visually sensitive moment of the death of a child.

If I was an editor, I would have chosen to publish this photo to gain media attention worldwide in hopes to receive relief efforts for the hundreds of other refugees attempting to seek asylum. I would hope that the publishing of this photo would draw enough attention that charities and people of power would reach out their hand to aid in the relief of these struggling families. By doing this, the people who I would be caring for the most are the refugees, as I am not considering the feelings or reactions of others when they come across this photo and news story. As controversial as it may be, the lives of the refugees matter more than the feelings of the individuals privileged of reading the news in the safety of their home.

#commethicsweek4