Image of grieving boy becomes a symbol of Kashmir tragedy
kilometres from the site of the gun battle where he was felled.
“Amir was like my brother. Who will I play with now,” an inconsolable Burhan asks now.
Once circulated on social media, his despairing image tugged hearts, moving many even to write poems.
Rights activist Khurram Parvez quoted the celebrated Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz to share the photo. “Khoon kay dhabay dulain gay kitni barsaaton kay baad...(How many rains will it take to wash away the blood stains…),” he wrote.
A blog site, With Kashmir, published a poem on Burhan’s photo titled “A tribute to the innocent face” which went: “Let the world answer his tears/Let the world watch his heart break/Let the world listen to his cries…”
National Conference spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu tweeted, “Should make us pause and think - are we all doing enough to prevent this pain and misery.” Even HT’s battle-hardened photographer Waseem Andrabi, who clicked the picture, has not been left untouched. “As I focussed my zoom lens on the sea of mourners at the funeral, I saw this boy’s face. The way in which he was crying struck me hard. I suddenly realised I might start crying myself,” Andrabi recollected. The boy’s haunting image kept him awake for several nights.
Burhan, though, is concerned only about his personal loss.”My friend was martyred. But why did he die,” he asked, unable to comprehend the violence that has become part of Kashmiri life.