Sunday, 3 January 2016

Stories of 2015: Syrian refugee tripped by Hungarian camera operator

Carrying his seven-year-old son in one arm, Osama Abdul Mohsen, a refugee from the Syrian town of Deir el-Zour, was darting past police on a grassy patch of land near the border between Serbia and Hungary when he tumbled to the ground.
Until then, the only thing on his mind had been young Zaid, who had been crying uncontrollably for hours. But now Abdul Mohsen’s face was red with anger. He and his son had not simply fallen, they had been tripped up by a Hungarian camera operator, Petra László, who had stuck out her foot as they tried to run.
Abdul Mohsen admonished her as he scrambled up. For a moment he hesitated. “I was thinking, do I confront her or not?” But the sound of his son crying jolted him out of the thought. “I was so worried about him,” he says. “I just grabbed [Zaid] and kept going.”
Caught on camera, the incident in September was seen by millions and sparked global outrage. László apologised for her actions, which she claimed had been a self-defence decision taken in the heat of the moment.

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