Islam and the West
I Can Only Tell You What My Eyes See
Author(s): Giles Duley
Reviewed by: Ruqaiyah Hibell
Review
The poignantly tragic, heart-wrenching photograph taken by Turkish photographer Nilüfer Demir of three-year-old, Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, lying lifeless on a Bodrum beach (2 September 2015), fleetingly jolted the conscience of the public and politicians around the world, and is testimony to the immensely evocative power of images to move hearts. Within a week of the picture being flashed across the global media, large numbers of Syrian refugees were transported to new lives in Germany, receiving a rapturous welcome. Such momentum to aid refugees was only transitorily sustained across Europe, which demonstrates the need to continue to highlight their plight, and to send a strong reminder of the necessity to ensure that the innate dignity of all human beings is upheld. Packing a similarly powerful punch, Giles Duley’s UNHCR mandate during 2015–16, ‘to follow his heart’ has resulted in a remarkable collection of....