Top 10 child photographs that shocked the world

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Tragedy of Omayra Sanchez (Frank Fourier)

Tragedy of Omayra Sanchez (Frank Fourier)

Back in the year 1985, the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia led to a massive mudslide. It ravaged nearby towns and massacred nearly 25,000 lives.

Trapped in the mud and rubble was Omayra Sanchez. After 3 days of struggle, she succumbed to hypothermia and gangrene. The picture was taken moments before her death, and stands as a testimony of Columbian officials’ failure to act quickly when the country faced its worst ever natural disaster.

Image credit: Toptenz

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Operation Lion Heart (Deanne Fitzmaurice)

Operation Lion Heart (Deanne Fitzmaurice)

Deanne Fitzmaurice won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for the photo essay titled “Operation Lion Heart.” 

The picture stands for the atrocities Iraqis had to face during one of the most violent conflicts of modern history – the Iraq War.

 This 9-year-old Iraqi boy got severely injured in an explosion. He was flown to Oakland, CA where he underwent several critical surgeries. His determination to not lose hope of life got him the nickname: Saleh Khalaf, i.e., “Lion Heart”.

Image credit: Toptenz

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Bhopal Gas Tragedy (Pablo Bartholomew)

Bhopal Gas Tragedy (Pablo Bartholomew)

Pablo Bartholomew captured India’s worst industrial disaster, one that killed over 15,000 and injured around 558,125.

The catastrophe was triggered by the leak of the deadly methyl isocyanate gas from Union Carbide India Limited’s (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal. This picture of a man burying his dead baby tells the story of what happened after that.

Image credit: Harvard

After the Tsunami (Arko Datta)

After the Tsunami (Arko Datta)

One of the most striking pictures from the Indian Tsunami was taken by Reuters photojournalist Arko Datta. The Tsunami was one of the deadliest natural disasters we have had ever seen. The picture shows grief-stricken parents clutching their dead baby. 

Image credit: CPJ

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After the Storm (Patrick Farrell)

After the Storm (Patrick Farrell)

The Miami Herald photographer documented the Haitian tragedy with captivating black-and-white stills. The picture shows a boy trying to save a stroller after the tropical storm that destroyed Haiti.

Image credit: Indulgy

Kosovo Refugees (Carol Guzy)

Kosovo Refugees (Carol Guzy)
Carol Guzy, the first ever woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography received her most recent Pulitzer back in the year 2000 for her touching photographs of Kosovo refugees. The picture here shows a baby called Agim Shala passed on through a barbed wire fence to his family.
Image credit: Reberahclare
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Dhiya Thamer (Hadei addition)

Dhiya Thamer (Hadei addition)

In this picture by an AP journalist, this Iraqi mother morns the death of her six-year-old son Dhiya Thamer after their car was attacked by masked gunmen in Baquba, capital of Iraq's Diyala province. The family was returning after enrolling Dhiya in school for the first time.

Image credit: Taringa

Mass graves in Thailand (David Longstreath)

Mass graves in Thailand (David Longstreath)

In January 2005 several dead bodies of adults and children were found in mass graves near Wat Bang Muang, Thailand. Over 5,000 people were reportedly dead. This was after the tsunami struck a popular resort in southern Thailand on December, 2004.

Image credit: Taringa

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Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad (John Moore)

Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad (John Moore)

The picture shows a 9-year-old Iraqi girl suffering from a fractured skull and two broken bones recovering in 31 Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad. The hospital is considered the busiest American combat trauma hospital in the world.

 This happened after a US Army vehicle crashed into their car.

Image credit: Taringa 

Prisoner of War (Jean -Marc Bouju)

Prisoner of War (Jean -Marc Bouju)

This is a heart-warming picture of an Iraqi prisoner of war, who is comforting his 4-year-old son in a re-groupment center for Prisoners-of-War of the 101st Airborne Division near An Najaf back in March, 2003.

Image credit: Taringa

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