The photojournalist who captured a striking image of a 4-year-old Syrian refugee holding her hands in the air to surrender has confirmed that the viral image was not staged, and that the expression of fear on the girl’s face is all too real.
The image was retweeted more than 11,000 times, according to BBC News, which tracked down the original photographer after questions surfaced about its authenticity.
Osman Sağırlı, a Turkish photojournalist, told the BBC that he was photographing child refugees in the Atmeh refugee camp in Syria last year when the 4-year-old girl in the picture apparently mistook his camera lens for a weapon.
“I realised she was terrified after I took it,” Sağırlı told the BBC, “and looked at the picture, because she bit her lips and raised her hands.”
“Normally kids run away, hide their faces or smile when they see a camera,” he said.
Syria in 1940: Crossroads of the Middle East During WWII
A view of Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesRaising the French flag at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesWomen carry water containers on their heads as they lead mules along a road in a desert village near Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMembers of the Bedouin "camel cavalry" near Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesStreet scene, Damascus, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesView of the downtown area of Aleppo from atop the ramparts of the great citadel built in the 4th century B.C.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesView from above Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSoldiers urge a mule up the steps of the citadel at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesScene in Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesInside the garrison of the French expeditionary force in the great citadel at Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesStreet scene, Aleppo, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA narrow street in downtown Aleppo, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA Moroccan soldier of the French expeditionary force holds an officer's Arabian horse inside the great citadel at Aleppo, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesEngineers relax on the grounds of the great citadel, Aleppo, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFrench Foreign Legion soldiers at their outpost at Homs, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFrench Foreign Legion soldiers gather around newly erected tents as they set up their outpost near Homs, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSouth of Homs, men of the Tunisian infantry prepare to eat.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesArchaeological ruins with modern homes in background, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA family walks past the walled town and beehive-shaped homes of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesView of the walled town of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSyrian children outside the walled town of Tell Bisse, Syria, 1940.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE MagazineLIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE MagazineLIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE MagazineLIFE magazine, May 20, 1940.LIFE Magazine
