More Interviews With Little Omran's Father Reveal Terrorist Propaganda, Family Supports Syrian Government
In August, 2016, Western corporate media outlets paraded video of a young Syrian boy, injured in a blast and allegedly being saved by the White Helmets. That video was presented as evidence of “Assad’s cruelty” and his “indiscriminate bombing of civilians” as well as the heroism of the White Helmets.
The picture of the boy, seemingly injured in some type of bombing incident, sitting alone in an orange chair in the back of an ambulance, blood stains on his face and covered in dust from cracked concrete also comes in video form, footage that lasts for about two minutes, showing the boy being carried to a well-equipped ambulance (with English writing on some of the equipment). The boy’s story was also accompanied by “heart wrenching” stories from “activists” in east Aleppo alleging the crimes of the Syrian government and the horrific situation in the area. The boy’s name soon became known and, immediately, “Little Omran” became a household name.
It was rather clear that the child was being used as a stage prop. After being passed to the medical “attendants,” little Omran was placed in an orange chair facing the camera and immediately left alone. He was not treated, no one else was lifted into the ambulance, and no one was even in the vehicle with him. Instead, he was left to face the “activists” outside the vehicle and their cameras for what seems like too long a time to be anything other than a photo op for the “activists” videotaping him.
While the Western public was whipped into a fury of concern for one child, largely uninjured, they were able to completely ignore the thousands upon thousands of children murdered by the United States, NATO, and their proxies in the same country. Still, little Omran was paraded in front of Western audiences as an unfortunate little propaganda tool, part of a play where the other actors were the same people who behead children on camera and hang them from doorposts.
However, after almost a year has passed, little Omran is fine, living with his parents in Aleppo and his life has returned to relative normalcy. However, his parents are now speaking out about what happened to their child and how he was used by terrorists as a stage prop for their propaganda.
A recently released short video, now shows both Omran and his father, (Mohammad Kheir Daqneesh) Abu Ali, reveals that not only was Omran used as a stage prop by terrorists but that he himself was offered money to continue to use the boy for propaganda purposes. Abu Ali refused to take the money offered to him and instead did everything he could to shelter Omran from being used by the terrorists any further.
In this interview, Omran’s father tells his story. He says,
Father: What’s your name? [to boy] Boy: Omran Daqneesh Father: [to other child] And what’s your name? Second child: [inaudible] Father: Omran, come to me. . . . Thank God we have returned to our home and our home is not damaged. And we are now living in our home and I go to work and come back every day. Everything is fine and our life is very normal. Interviewer: Abu Ali, in short, tell us what happened when you were in the rebel controlled area and how they exploited Omran’s photo to demonize the Syrian army.
Father: The story is well known. They took his pictures and posted them and started trading with his blood. I cut his hair and changed his name so they wouldn’t be able to continue with their charade and in spite of this they continued with the charade and still posted photos. Thank God we are here and we have no problems. Interviewer: Who are the parties who tried to entice you so you can do interviews and attack the Syrian government and what did they offer you? Father: I was offered big amounts of money by several parties. Some in the form of aid. Some in the form of donations. And from Mousa al-Omar with the rebel reporter Abu al-Sheikh. He was the intermediary but I refused to take any money from them.
In another part of the interview, Abu Ali goes deeper into the story. The interview goes as follows:
I am Mohammad Kheir Daqneesh, the father of Omran. We have been in so much turmoil in (Eastern Aleppo) because of the insurgents, and because of the issues they made propaganda of. The child – thank God – is alright. He had slightly minor issues. We were sitting in our house like this. Omran and I were spending time having fun on our cell phones. Then the strike occurred. He ran inside (his room) because of the pressure, and I could see nothing, no light until I heard his voice. I held (Omran) while I was bleeding over him. I put him in a safe room until I could get the family too. I lifted and threw heavy stones until I heard the voice of my elder son. I wanted to search for anyone else. The insurgents started filming him while I was in the house. I came out and asked ‘Where are the kids?” They told me they are at the hospital. They took me with the ambulance. Omran’s head was bandaged. Nevertheless, they took him to the hospital just to film him. I was busy saving my family while the insurgents seized the opportunity and filmed my family when they were getting out of the house for the sake of (propaganda).
Journalist Eva Bartlett was also able to interview Daqneesh on June 6. "The Syrian Army always protects the country,” he told Bartlett. “I served in the Syrian army. This is the Syrian army's duty, to protect people, to protect the country, to protect the civilians. The army is the people, and the people are the army."
This is quite a different story than the one portrayed by the Western corporate press who presented the White Helmets as selfless rescuers and Omran as the visual representation of “Assad’s brutality.” Not only is the fact that the White Helmets attempted to shamelessly use the boy as a stage prop for their own deceptive propaganda a window in the world of the White Helmets propaganda outfit, but the fact that Omran’s father still continues to support the Syrian government is also quite telling.