UN High Commission for Refugees representative Andrew Harper tweeted this powerful image of a 4-year-old Syrian refugee boy who was separated from his family while they fled their country.
Fortunately, the child — whose name is Marwan — was reunited with his parents after crossing over into Jordan.
Just to let you know that Marwan was safely reunited w his mother soon after being carried across the #Jordan border
The U.N. reports that more than 2.5 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011. Half of these refugees are children.
Update - Monday, Feb. 17, 2014 6:20 p.m. ET: Guardian journalist Shiv Malik confirmed the child was just a few steps away from his parents when the photo was taken.
@HalaGorani Erm UNHCR just told me his family was 20 steps ahead of him.
@HalaGorani She said family was "20 steps ahead". Clearly distressing but Kid didn't arrive alone as such. (Not unaccompanied minor)