A heartbreaking photo from December 2014 is currently going viral of a small child in a Syrian refugee camp who thought the camera was a weapon and immediately put her hands up in surrender.

According to the BBC, Turkish photojournalist Osman Sagirli captured the image and explained to them the details behind the photo:

I was using a telephoto lens, and she thought it was a weapon. I realized she was terrified after I took it, and looked at the picture, because she bit her lips and raised her hands. Normally kids run away, hide their faces or smile when they see a camera.

It was reported that this little girl had traveled 100 miles to the camp from her home with her mother and two siblings to escape the violence in the region.

Sagirli said that the faces of children reflect the extreme suffering these refugees experience more than adults. "It is the children who reflect the feelings with their innocence," he said.

Currently, there are nearly four million Syrian refugees spread across the Middle East -- Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt according to the United Nations. Just over half of refugees are female, with the largest age group between 18 and 59. Almost 20% are under 12 years of age.

H/T CBS News