The image, titled “Choices” shows Omran Daqneesh next to another victim of the same tragedy, Aylan Kurdi, the 3-year-old Syrian refugee found dead on the beach of Kos a year ago. The image of Aylan Kurdi sparked similar outrage.

While images of the horror that Syrian children face may temporarily shake our collective conscience, nothing seems to change the reality of the millions who have been facing war for years on end. These are daily realities for people whose choice is to risk death by staying or risk death by leaving.

No public amount of compassion can change that.

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