While the Syrian refugee crisis is polarizing European nations as we speak, a photo of a couple hugging and kissing, clicked by Hungarian photographer, Istvan Zsiros, is going viral.
Amidst the struggle of the refugees and the subsequent roller coaster-like reactions from European governments, here’s an image that shines like a glimmer of hope.
30-year-old Zsiros used to be an IT worker who recently gave up his day job to try to make a living from photography, wanted to see for himself: “It is important,” he says, “to be open and curious to the world. Something told me to go. To see for myself, not through the media.” An hour’s bus ride and half an hour’s walk later, he was at the station where the refugees were resting, with his camera.
On September 13th, he shared a black and white copy of the photo on the Facebook page of photography competition about the refugees, and that’s where the photo went viral.
“The colour image is too vibrant,” he says. “Red and blue sleeping bags, bright-coloured clothes – it distracts you from the moment between the couple. In black and white, it is just one big, touching moment, without annoying things around it.”
h/t Guardian