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Westchester 6-Year-Old Gets Shout Out From Obama During UN Speech

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - A 6-year-old boy from Scarsdale got a shout out from President Barack Obama on Tuesday as he addressed international leaders at the United Nations at the Leaders Summit on Refugees.

President Barack Obama hosts the Leaders' Summit on Refugees at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday. To listen to the remarks about Alex, the 6-year-old from Scarsdale, fast forward to 16:28.

Photo Credit: U.S. Department of State

Alex is six years old. After seeing a distressing photo of a young boy in Syria, Alex wrote a letter asking President Obama to help bring that boy to America so he could be part of Alex's family. Learn more: www.whitehouse.gov/refugees

Photo Credit: The White House
Alex, a Scarsdale 6-year-old was mentioned by name in President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday.

Alex, a Scarsdale 6-year-old was mentioned by name in President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Official White House photo

At the conclusion of his 19-minute speech, Obama spoke about a young boy, Alex, from Scarsdale, who wrote the president a letter after seeing the image of 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh trying to wipe the blood off his hands in the back of an ambulance following an explosion in Syria last month. 

In his letter, Alex wrote “since he won’t bring toys, I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it. I will teach him addition and subtraction. My little sister will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him. We can all play together. We will give him a family and he will be our brother.”

“Those are the words of a 6-year-old boy. He teaches us a lot,” Obama commented. He later shared Alex's story on his official Facebook page.

“The humanity that a young child can display, who hasn’t learned to by cynical, or suspicious, or how they look, or how they pray, and who just understands the notion of treating somebody that is like him with compassion, with kindness - we can all learn from Alex,” he continued.

“Imagine the suffering we could ease, and the lives we could save, and what our world would look like, if seeing a child who’s hurting anywhere in the world, we say, ‘We will give him a family and he will be our brother.’”

A video of Obama’s speech at the United Nations can be seen here, and the transcript, including the excerpt about Alex, is available here. The remarks about Alex begin at the 16:28 mark.

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