Sonny Bill Williams Causes Twitter Storm With Photos Of Dead Syrian Children

All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has caused a storm on Twitter by posting photos of two dead children, following his recent visit to several Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon.
Earlier this month, Williams travelled to the camps, in the Bekaa Valley as an ambassador for Unicef. He shared photos of his trip at the time, but last night, shared the two images in question.
The photos, which can be seen here on his Twitter, show two children lying on the ground with horrific wounds to their heads, torsos and legs. Williams captioned them:
“What did these children do to deserve this? This summer share a thought for the innocent lives lost everyday in war.”

The images, which have been retweeted more than 1000 times, drew a powerful and immediate response. Some were angry at the impact the pictures might have on his young fans, saying “too late if they’ve already seen these pictures.”
“Insensitive”, said another. “He’s a [rugby player with] young followers who follow him because he’s their sports hero, not for politics.” One added that the photos should be censored out of respect for the dead.
Though many were angry, some praised him for his decision to share the “ferocious reality” of the Syrian refugee crisis. At the time of his trip, Williams shared his thoughts on the matter in a video diary:

Story: The Australian

Photo: Twitter / Sonny Bill Williams

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