17 discourse about the Syrian refugee crisis . Although a positive move , it was somewhat
bittersweet in that the image came too late for most refugees , as the death of innocent victims resulting from the refugee crisis was tragically all too familiar . It could be suggested there was widespread ‘ compassion fatigue ’ 13 . This was partially to do with the lack of engagement in both the public and political sphere , specifically trying to drive change in relieving some pressure of European borders , by welcoming refugees from the Syrian crisis into countries like the United Kingdom , but even after the image had been published , as Kurdi ’ s father Abdullah Kurdi claimed , ’ nothing ha [ d ] changed ’ 14 . It was reported that a staggering statistic of ‘ 8,500 people ’ 15 died whilst trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea the following year , with the United Nations Human Rights Agency declaring 2016 as ‘ the deadliest year yet ’, regarding the increased death toll ( UNHCR staff , 2018 ). Once more , Susan Sontag contributed to the argument by stating images make no difference . By having similar images of the same horrific nature repeating themselves , they lose their primary impact ; ‘ photographs furnish evidence ’. 16
Therefore , the notion that images make a difference to “ our ” understanding of conflict loses some momentum in this case , when “ we ” as a collective failed to put effective measures in place to alleviate the situation despite being so ‘ traumatised ’ after the revelation of Alan Kurdi ’ s death .
Within the media ecologies 17 depicted by the ‘ Leninfall ’ and Alan Kurdi images , their portrayal of conflict certainly delivers an immersive experience , creating a paradigm in which “ our ” understanding of conflicts may develop . Artists serving as witnesses , as opposed to journalists , also add to this immersive quality in their work via a different perspective resultant of the fact that the purpose of their delivered image is to tell the story , like journalists , but they do not have the same editorial obligations to fulfil . War artist , Mark Neville , produced a moving image of Bolan Market in an ‘ Afghan town ’ 18 during 2014 , videoing normal everyday people
13
B Höijer , “ The Discourse of Global Compassion and the Media ,” Nordicom Review 24 ( 2 ) ( 2003 ): 19 .
14
15
16
S Sontag , On photography ( London : Penguin Books , 2008 ): 5 .
17
M Fuller , Media ecologies . Cambridge : MIT Press .
18