SAN DIEGO —
CONTENT WARNING: Some readers may be disturbed by the photographs below and in the video above.
A heartbreaking new photo highlights the dangerous conditions migrants face while journeying north in search of a better life. The image shows a father and daughter who drowned while crossing the Rio Grande.
The powerful photograph of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter Valeria has sparked many conversations about immigration and those seeking refuge in America. Much like other powerful photos in the past, some think the photo has the power to shape history.
"It forces you to look at our shared humanity and it gives you a visceral gut emotional reaction that you can't ignore,” said San Diego State University professor Kate Swanson.
Swanson has long studied the plight of migrants and says here in the U.S. we often dehumanize them by lumping them into numbers and using titles like “illegal aliens.” But she said the picture of the father and young daughter dead in the murky river water changes that.
“These images just really force us to recognize that they're mothers and fathers, they're brothers and sisters - everything. They're just like us and they're just trying to do the best possible thing they can for their children to improve their lives,” Swanson said.
Don Bartletti who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for his photo of a migrant boy riding on top of a freight train says only one in a million pictures can pack such an impactful punch especially in this age of social media where you are bombarded with photos.
"We never stop scrolling. They're everywhere. They're blasting us,” Bartletti said. “But only a few - when properly done - will help you remember [and think] ‘yeah, I remember that and that mattered.’”
Bartletti says images can shape our memory of things - something history has proven time and time again.
Some other important historical photos Bartletti notes include:
"Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" by Joe Rosenthal taken on Feb. 23, 1945
"Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange from 1936
Eddie Adam's 1968 photo of the execution of a suspected Viet Cong officer on a Saigon street
The picture of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and young Valeria was taken Monday and quickly went viral but only time will tell if it leads to action that defines the immigration debate.
"I want people to look at that photo and I want them to not look away and I want them to act upon what's happening in this country and do something about it,” said professor Swanson.