The iconic picture taken by Mustafa Hassouna (Andalou Agency for Getty).
KARACHI: An ‘iconic’ image of a young Palestinian man at a protest in Gaza this week has gone viral.
The images shows a shirtless man with a flag in one hand and a slingshot in the other, and is being compared to the iconic French Revolution painting, Liberty Leading the People.
The picture was taken by Mustafa Hassouna of Turkey’s Anadolu Agency during the protest against the Israeli blockade in Gaza. The man seen in the picture is Abu Amro lives in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City.
“I was surprised this picture of me went viral,” he told Al Jazeera. “I participate in protests on a weekly basis, sometimes more. I didn’t even know there was a photographer near me.” He also said that he joins the protest regularly on Monday and Friday.
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The picture shows the stark contrast between him and others who are there to cover the protests wearing bullet-proof vests and other safety equipment and ducking down to protect themselves.
“I don’t go to protests to get pictures of me taken, but this has encouraged me to continue demonstrating,” Amro said.
“The flag I was carrying is the same one I always hold in all the other protests I’ve attended. My friends make fun of me, saying it is easier to throw rocks without holding a flag in the other hand, but I got used to it.
“If I get killed, I want to be wrapped in the same flag. We are demanding our right of return, and protesting for our dignity and the dignity of our future generation.”
