Bouthaina al-Rimi

Bouthaina al-Rimi is a Yemeni baby girl whose home in the Attan neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, was bombed and destroyed on 25 August 2017 by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike. The explosion tragically claimed the lives of her parents and six siblings. Following her rescue, a photographer captured a poignant image of Bouthaina attempting to open one of her swollen and bruised eyes. This photograph has since become a symbol representing the devastating impact of the ongoing war in the Middle Eastern country. Since 2015, this picture has been often associated with images of Omran Daqneesh and Alan Kurdi.

The Aftermath As Bouthaina's picture went viral on the social media, Thousands of Yemenis uploaded photos of themselves with one eye closed and using a hand to open the other eye wider to show solidarity with the plight of Bouthaina. On September 1, 2017, former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that he is adopting Bouthaina. The Arabic hashtag #Bouthaina_The_Eye_Of_Humanity and #I_SPEAK_FOR_BUTHINA have both been used more than 3,000 times within 24 hours since the bombing