While collecting scrap and used tools from garbage spots in Lebanese streets in order to support his family, this little Syrian child by chance found a storybook for children.
When he found the book, he felt as if he had snatched moments from his childhood life lost in the hardship of misery. It was as if he had found his distant dream. He sat at the edge of the garbage container, unconcerned with what surrounded him, doing nothing but reading his treasure book.
Lebanese engineer and university professor Rodrigue Magames, the photo-taker, said: “What caught my attention most was that the child was reading the book for several minutes with passion.”
This little reader said, “Had it been my book, I would not have thrown it away.” Certainly, reading gave him cleanliness that helped him get rid of the rubbish of the shocking reality.
When I saw the picture, I wished I could have returned both of them to where they belong: the child to his school in his homeland and the book to a decent library or bookshop.
