This Syrian child was moving with a group of refugees when he was temporarily separated from his mother

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 6, 2020 at 12:40
Updated on March 6, 2020 at 13:00
3 min read
By Adeng MAYIK, AFP Kenya

An image of a little Syrian boy surrounded by UN staff in the Jordanian desert has been shared thousands of times on Facebook, with claims that he migrated into Jordan alone. The claim is false; the boy was crossing the desert with a group of migrants when he was separated temporarily from his mother, but later reunited with his family over the border.

A Facebook post from March 2, 2020, which has been archived here, shows a toddler in a desert area carrying a big plastic bag, surrounded by staff from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

The caption reads: “Heartbroken, photo of 4 years old child who is migrating from Syria to Jordan, the UNHCR team caught up with him when he was migrating alone in the desert from Syria to Jordan.the only thing he had in his shopper were the clothes of his mom and sister, who were killed in Syria. (sic)”

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on March 05, 2020

The same photo was shared on Facebook here and here with similar claims.

What really happened?

The photo is not new: It was first published back in 2014. This tweet on February 16, 2014 by Andrew Harper, UNHCR's Director of Program Support and Management (and at the time its representative to Jordan), shows a different angle in which the child appears to be part of a crowd.

Confirming this, Harper said in his tweet (below): “Marwan's story is that he was temporarily separated frm his family in d chaos of the mass @refugees x'ing to #Jordan (sic).”

Screenshot of the tweet, taken on March 05, 2020, showing the boy in the company of a crowd

In a separate tweet (below), Harper shared another photo of Syrian migrants in the desert with the same child lagging behind the group. Says Harper in his tweet: “Thanks to Jared 4 this shot showing Marwan at the back of this group of @refugees. He is separated - he is not alone.”

Screenshot of the tweet, taken on March 05, 2020

Harper shared two more photos here and here showing the boy called Marwan being helped by UN refugee staff across the border to Jordan. He explained (below) that the child was ultimately reunited with his family.

Screenshot of the tweet, taken on March 05, 2020

Marwan is a name given to the child by the UNHCR to protect his identity, according to The Guardian.

According to the United Nations, thousands of children have fled their homes due to the war in Syria, and they end up in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. While most children are usually accompanied by their families, many of them were separated from their families during the journey.

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