Facebook Post Is So Moving, Even Obama Commented

President says story of charitable Iranian boy 'resonated'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 4, 2015 9:05 AM CDT
Facebook Post Is So Moving, Even Obama Commented
This photo, which moved President Obama, shows an Iranian boy, 10, and his father.   (Humans of New York/Facebook)

President Obama was apparently perusing Facebook yesterday when he came across a post and was so moved, he decided to leave a comment. It's now getting plenty of attention. It appears on the Humans of New York page created by photographer Brandon Stanton, who posts photos of people he interviews around New York City—and, occasionally, beyond, reports Time. Stanton is currently visiting Iran and yesterday posted a photo of an Iranian 10-year-old and his father.

In the photo's caption, the boy's father describes his son's charitable nature: Once, when his son was 5, he asked the boy to carry home a two-pound bag of apricots they'd bought. Before they reached home, however, the man turned around to find his son had given all the fruit away. "I knew then that I was raising a humanitarian," the man says. In a comment from the White House—liked 117,000 times and signed with the president's initials—Obama writes:

  • "What an inspirational story. One of the most fulfilling things that can happen to you as a parent is to see the values you’ve worked to instill in your kids start to manifest themselves in their actions—and this one really resonated with me. I hope this young man never loses his desire to help others. And I’m going to continue doing whatever I can to make this world a place where he and every young person like him can live up to their full potential. (And if I ever get to meet him, I hope he’ll save me an apricot!)"
Given the context of the Iranian nuclear deal and Obama's mention of possibly meeting the boy, a blogger at Vox finds the post particularly "meaningful." (Hillary Clinton is also a fan of HONY.)

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