The 10 Most Agonizing Photos of the Refugee Crisis

By Rhiannon Winner on October 13, 2015
WARNING: Graphic photographs ahead
The heartbreak surrounding the European refugee crisis is hard to summarize in words. As the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. In some of these photographs, the story behind them is nowhere to be found. A photographer snapped a picture and left. It’s up to you to guess what thoughts raced through their minds.
The best way I know to truly empathize with those who are suffering is not to read it an article that just tells you how many people suffered. The fact that at least 2,700+ migrants (primarily Syrians) have died in 2015 alone won’t shock you for long. But images are harder to erase from your mind, and regardless of politics, these are the most shocking, heart-wrenching, and powerful images of the crisis so far. 

Children are caught in a clash between European forces and migrants.   Image credit: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/world/europe/macedonia-police-migrants-crackdown.html?_r=0

A group of migrants are kept at bay with fire extinguishers.  Image credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/11796248/Migrants-sprayed-with-fire-extinguishers-by-authorities-in-Kos.html

Migrants sleep packed together on a train.  Image credit: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/syrian-refugees-migrants-sleep-floor-carriage-travel-train-photo-133443537.html

The viral photo of a young migrant boy dead after a boat filled with other refugees (and his family) sunk.  Image credit: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/world/gallery/refugee-boy-bodrum-turkey/

A boat packed with refugees is aided.  Image credit: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/19/eu-rights-abuses-home-drive-mediterranean-crisis

A man holds his children close.   Image credit: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/21/photo-migrants-laith-majid-journeys

Bodies wash ashore after a boat carrying migrants capsized.   Image credit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/20/migrants-mediterranean-photos_n_7101816.html

Two refugees try to cross the border as a soldier reaches for the boy.      Image credit: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-uk-response-to-the-plight-of-syrian-refugees-is-a-national-embarrassment-10484518.html

Image credit: http://fortune.com/author/sandro-galea/

Refugees sleep crammed together.    Image credit: http://fortune.com/author/sandro-galea/

A father sells pens on the street while cradling his young, sleeping daughter.         Image credit: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/28/middleeast/social-media-and-syrian-refugee/

 

 

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