It was almost another tragedy.

But with a boost from social media, an anonymous pen seller in Beirut, Lebanon became a Syrian refugee success story.

When Gissur Simonarson, an activist from Oslo, Norway, posted a photo last week of a father selling pens on the streets of Beirut as he cradled his sleeping daughter, he struck a chord with more than 6,000 followers.

"It's a terribly emotional picture," Simonarson told CNN. "You see the look in his face and just the way he holds the pens out, as if those pens are everything he has in the world."


Within hours, requests poured in from around the world to help the merchant in the photo. But Simonarson did not know who the man was or who took the photograph.

That's where social media came in, with the activists asking others to help Simonarson locate the anonymous pen seller with #BuyPens.


After a two-day search and lots of help, Simonarson located Abdul. "Finally found him," the activist wrote on Twitter. "Been a lot of work, but it was worth it! Now lets help them!"

The single father of two was overwhelmed to learn he was the subject of an international search. His 4-year-old daughter, seen sleeping in the photograph, was excited and asked to take a selfie with Carol Malouf, one of the activists who helped find the family.
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Nice