‘What hope looks like!’ Photo of Afghan girl skipping in joy on Belgium airport tarmac goes viral, wins praises online
The image, taken by Reuters photographer Johanna Geron at Melsbroek military airport, shows the girl with a smile on her face as she follows two adults, most likely her parents
A photo of a young Afghan girl skipping across the tarmac at Belgium airport after being evacuated from Kabul has gone viral, with social media users praising the heartwarming moment amid the ongoing crisis . Image credit: Twitter
Ever since the Talibans took over Afghanistan, there have been numerous heart-breaking images on social media of Afghanis struggling and trying to escape. Amid countries evacuating their own people and many taking in refugees from the war-torn nation, one particular photo is winning hearts online.
The photo which is currently going viral is of an Afghani kid happily hopping and jumping on the tarmac of the Belgian airport after being evacuated. What caught everyone’s eye is the difference between the expressions of freedom on adults and children.
Taken by Reuters photographer Johanna Geron at Melsbroek military airport in Belgian, the image displays a family of four walking from the airplane. Meanwhile, a small girl with a smile on her face can be seen jumping and following two adults walking ahead of her, who are most likely to be her parents.
The photo was shared by former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt on his social media handle. “This is what happens when you protect refugees. Welcome to Belgium, little girl!” he captioned the photo.
Check out his post here:
This is what happens when you protect refugees…
Welcome to Belgium, little girl !
Wonderful @Reuters picture via @POLITICOEurope pic.twitter.com/v1127frvf9
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) August 26, 2021
According to reports, the little girl and her family were among 1,400 people who were recently evacuated to Belgium, which was days before the country closed its operations with Afghanistan.
Minutes after being shared, this photo caught the attention of social media users and is making headlines. As people hoped for the child’s better future in Belgium, others expressed their love to the little one. There were many who wished for peace in Afghanistan as the country was left shattered.
Check out a a few comments below:
A picture is worth a thousand words. https://t.co/IQ2ecjXDtc
— Megan Davies (@megandaviesbbc) August 26, 2021
May she seize the opportunity to go to school and grow up to lead a powerful international campaign that ends Taliban-like oppression of women on this planet forever.#resist #VoteBlue2022 #mepolitics #Afghanistan https://t.co/qDO7rARR7E
— Bruce Bourgoine (@BruceBourgoine) August 26, 2021
Anyone that is questioning or disputing refugees coming to your country for a safer life, look at this beautiful picture https://t.co/Jxon7w0cTA
— Daniel (@gentlyairhead1) August 26, 2021
#ThursdayTreasure
So delightful to see that this little girl and her family will have a chance of a better life 💕🌸🙏🏻 https://t.co/FWoVOiX3Hh— Charlene McTier (@GlobalChar) August 27, 2021
In the meantime, the current Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo informed that his country had ended its evacuation flights. They were carrying people from Kabul to Pakistan.
He further updated that the government had also decided to close all evacuations from the war-torn country as the security situation in Afghanistan has drastically deteriorated.
