A disturbing photo of a drowned father and his toddler lying face down in the water of the Rio Grande, part of the US border with Mexico after they were unable to get to the United States is going viral on social media. It has once again highlighted the life-threatening risks taken by refugees to reach safer shores.
Being dubbed as the Aylan Kurdi moment of America, the photo of Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter Valeria was published by a Mexican newspaper after the bodies of the two were found on Monday.
According to the newspaper, Ramirez was frustrated because the family from El Salvador was unable to present themselves to US authorities and request asylum.
He allegedly swam across the river on Sunday with his daughter Valeria. He set here there and went back for his wife, however, the child threw herself into the water and he tried to grab her but both were reportedly swept by the water current, reports India Today.
"When the girl jumped in is when he tried to reach her, but when he tried to grab the girl, he went in further ... and he couldn't get out," Rosa Ramirez, Martinez's mother, told AP. "He put her in his shirt, and I imagine he told himself, 'I've come this far' and decided to go with her."
"I begged them not to go, but he wanted to scrape together money to build a home," Ramirez said. "They hoped to be there a few years and save up for the house."
Very regrettable that this would happen, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday in response to a question about the photograph. We have always denounced that as there is more rejection in the United States, there are people who lose their lives in the desert or crossing the river. There was no immediate comment from the White House, AP said.
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