Photo of a one-eyed Yemeni girl, the lone survivor of a recent brutal airstrike by Saudi Arabia, has gone viral, setting off a wave of solidarity on social media networks.
Users around the world started sharing photos of themselves with one eye closed in solidarity with Bouthaina al-Rimi, after footage showed the badly bruised and injured little girl trying to open one of her swollen eyes with her fingers.
The young girl, believed to be four or five, was orphaned after her parents and five siblings as well as her uncle were killed in a Saudi airstrike that destroyed their apartment building in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Friday. Little Bouthaina suffered severe fractures in her face.
Overall, 14 people were killed and another 16 were injured in the attack, one of them as young as three years old, according to a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Allah stay with you , when no stays.#بثينه_عين_الانسانيه
— مــّيـرا🔱 (@MERo_MEra12) August 30, 2017
,💔 pic.twitter.com/TEzS5aXPZk
The picture has helped raise awareness about the brutal Saudi military aggression against the impoverished Yemen. The unprovoked war has so far killed over 12,000 Yemenis and put the country on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.
#I_Speak_For_Buthina#بثينة_عين_الانسانية
— shahari ahmed (@ahmed_shahari) August 30, 2017
Kindly Support and Share pic.twitter.com/fzTtnPsBEW
Bouthaina’s image has also brought attention to the plight of some 500,000 Yemeni children suffering from acute malnutrition. The deadly war has also led to a cholera outbreak infecting more than half a million Yemenis.
What if you are in Buthina's situation!Isn't time for the world's conscience to see#DonaldTrump
— ѾαŦα♫🇾🇪 (@wafafoof93) August 31, 2017
#بثينه_عين_الانسانية #I_SPEAK_FOR_BUTHINA pic.twitter.com/Mt6TIjsQe2
The hashtags #Bouthaina_The_Eye_Of_Humanity and #I_SPEAK_FOR_BUTHINA had both been used more than 3,000 times since Wednesday, according to BBC.
#بثينة_عين_الإنسانية
— Abdulla Qatari (@qatari77abo) August 30, 2017
The world can see your crime from my eyes pic.twitter.com/OT5QFM6IpK
“Such loss of civilian life is outrageous and runs counter to the basic tenets of the law of armed conflict,” Carlos Morazzani, the deputy head of ICRC’s delegation in Yemen, said in a statement.
Saudis took responsibility for the attack on Saturday, citing a “technical mistake.”