Obama Left A Touching Comment On Humans Of New York Photo

The Humans of New York Facebook page is currently posting pictures and stories of the average Iranian citizen. Brandon Stanton, the person behind the incredibly popular and often emotionally touching project, has spent the last few months abroad sharing the stories of humans worldwide on the page.

Stanton’s last stop was Iran, which was the very first place he traveled to with Humans of New York. His first trip was 3 years ago, and since the project was still in its infancy, he hadn’t yet started collecting quotes to accompany the photos. This time around, Stanton said he was “excited” to have the chance to go back and tell “the stories of ordinary Iranians”.

One such story “really resonated” with President Obama, who was so touched he left a comment on the photo from the White House’s Facebook account. In the original post a father spoke about “raising a humanitarian” when he realized how far his young son had gone to help others.

Today’s his tenth birthday. He’s a very emotional young man. He likes to solve other people’s problems. One time when he was five years old, he came with me to the store and we bought two pounds of fresh apricots. I let him carry the bag home. He walked a little bit behind me the entire way. After awhile, I asked him to hand me an apricot. ‘I can’t,’ he said. ‘I’ve given them all away.’ I knew then I was raising a humanitarian.

Obama called the story “inspirational” and said that he hopes “this young man never loses his desire to help others”. He continued to point out that how “fulfilling” it is for a parent to see their child put into practice the good values parents work hard to instil.

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 instil 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!) – bo

The project’s stop in Iran is at a controversial time. Obama’s Iran nuclear deal is a hotly debated issue and it was only this week that he was able to secure enough vote commitments to ensure it will pass Congress. One of the reasons frequently given to support the deal is that by the time it expires, Iranian citizens will be more moderate. The hope is that the country will invest in its economy, not its military.

See the whole original post below.