The image of the lifeless body of the Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi washed up on a shore in Turkey seemed to changed the conversation around the plight of North Africa's refugees overnight. Many European governments that until that moment were demonizing the fleeing refugees, began to offer their support, with buses, aid, and promises of a better life. Last week, the European Union drew up a proposal to distribute migrants among its 28 members, signs reading "Refugees Welcome" were seen across the region.

However, this episode has also served to expose the cynicism of media outlets or the news cycle, which has lost interest in the plight of refugees elsewhere.

In June of last year, the world was shocked when it was reported that an unprecedented 50,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America had arrived at the U.S. border during the previous nine months.

These minors were escaping a violent situation not too different than that facing children in Syria. Like the present situation in Europe, refugees from Central America were demonized as invaders, politicians of all stripes said they would work to address the root of the problem.

One year on, the root causes of that migration — poverty, violent crime, and a lack of opportunities for young people — remain unaddressed.

Instead, the United States has simply pushed to transfer the problem from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Mexico-Guatemala border. Mexican officials stopped nearly 93,000 Central American migrants between last October and April of this year, nearly double the number from the previous period.

People from Central America continue to flee, by the tens of thousands, but it seems, the world stopped taking notice. The plight of those most in need cannot be fleeting, or determined solely by periodic public outrage, or the image of Aylan Kurdi won't be the last.