I can imagine his mother dressing him that morning, making sure he would be warm enough. I wonder if she’s the one who took the picture. Someone has written on the photo “kisses.”
It’s not a formal picture. He’s outside on a sunny day. It looks like he was probably moving when the picture was snapped; his arms seem to be swinging a little. As with most almost two-year-olds, I suspect it was hard to get him to stay still long enough for a photo.
It’s a happy picture, the kind that makes you smile; perhaps it reminds you of funny, energetic little children you know or remember.
Until you see the next picture. It was taken on his second birthday. His name was Islam Quraiqe’.
Death from a drone strike is not pretty. The small body is charred, ripped apart; internal organs are pouring out.
He had been riding with his father and uncle on a motorcycle in Gaza whenthe missile hit them. His 29-year-old father, a member of the Palestinian resistance, and 32-year-old uncle physician were also killed. Five bystanders, including a woman, were injured.
The missile was fired remotely by an Israeli sitting in front of a video screen and operating one of the many drones that periodically fly over Gaza and shoot Palestinians like fish in a fishbowl. The operators are usually female, the preferred group for this kind of desk job...
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Alison Weir @'Counterpunch'
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