A Picture Worth A Thousand Tears

How a smiling man brought me to uncontrollable tears

/http://on.fb.me/1Gtb2Rr

I know it sounds a little weird without context. I was aimlessly scrolling through Facebook, not really paying attention to anything when a post from the popular Facebook page Humans of New York finally caught my eye. This picture was the last in a series of pictures featuring Muhammad, a Syrian man fleeing the war. The previous 5 pictures told a horrific tale of a man who had lost so much. His brother was murdered, his father nearly beaten to death and yet here he is after months of sadness and terror, smiling because he accomplished his goal to make it to Europe.

I could never imagine dealing with the same experiences Muhammad had. Reading his story I felt selfish, angry, sad all at once. I cried because the only real difference between us was our nationality, and yet that so vividly defined how and why we were in Europe. As an American, coming to live in Europe meant just filling out some paperwork. As a Syrian, Muhammad had to risk his life. I cried even more because I saw that despite living through so much horror Muhammad could still genuinely smile.