We’re not talking about the image above, although that too is heartbreaking.

We might be fighting our own fight down here at home, but the atrocities occurring over in Syria are so inhumane they’re almost impossible to fathom.

I know it seems like every week there’s another horror from that part of the world, and there is, but there’s something about the chemical attack that took place earlier this week that has struck a nerve.

BusinessInsider says the death toll is now over 70, many of whom were children, and one image has come to embody a parent’s pain.

Here’s the story behind the photo:

Abdel Hameed Alyousef, a 29-year-old shop owner and father to 9-month-old twins, lost his family in the attack of a town called Khan Sheikhoun…

[There is] a striking photo of the distraught father as he sat inside of a vehicle cradling his toddlers’ lifeless bodies.

“Say goodbye, baby, say goodbye,” Alyousef said…

“I was right beside them and I carried them outside the house with their mother,” he continued. “They were conscious at first, but 10 minutes later we could smell the odor [sic].”

After the twins and his wife fell ill, he brought them to the attention of paramedics and left to look for the rest of his family, thinking his wife and children would eventually recover, the AP reported. He eventually found the bodies of two of his brothers, two nephews, and a niece.

Later, he discovered both his children and wife had died.

“I couldn’t save anyone — they’re all dead now,” he said.

Sometimes I really don’t want to live on this planet any longer.

I watched a video clip on Twitter the other day that reduced me to tears, and whilst we won’t share that one, this from Reuters gives you a look at the aftermath:

So you’re sitting there, shaking your head, and you’re wondering what you can actually do about this mess.

According to human rights advocate Eeman Abbasi, there are a number of ways to help. She spells them out in THIS Twitter thread, so if you do feel like lending a hand check that out.

Perspective.

[source:businessinsider]