Among the shocking images of the Syrian refugee toddler Aylan Kurdi that have been making rounds on the internet, the most heart-wrenching image was that of the three year-old boy lying lifelessly on the shores of Bodrum, south Turkey.
The Photographer
While the strong image has shaken up everyone around the world, the photographer Nilüfer Demir speaks up about the image. Talking to VICE media she said that she was paralysed on finding the boy's body and many more corpses at the beach but had to keep at her job. Although, what she didn't know was that the image would make such a difference all around the world. "On the one hand, I wish I hadn't had to take that picture. I would have much preferred to have taken one of Aylan playing on the beach than photographing his corpse. What I saw has left a terrible impression that keeps me awake at night. Then again, I am happy that the world finally cares and is mourning the dead children. I hope that my picture can contribute to changing the way we look at immigration in Europe, and that no more people have to die on their way out of a war" she said.
Nilüfer isn't the only witness who was affected by the death of the boy. The other person who was broken on finding the body of the boy was the Turkish police officer who carried him off the shore.
The Turkish Police Officer
The Turkish police officer opened up to a Turkish local news agency, Dogan saying that he thought of his own son when he saw the boy lying ashore lifelessly. "I have a 6-year-old son. The moment I saw the baby, I thought about my own son and put myself into his father's place. Words cannot describe what a sad and tragic sight it was" he said.
He had hoped that the boy would be alive as he approached him but found that he showed no signs of life. While the image of him carrying Aylan is being circulated all over the internet, the police officer was unaware of having been clicked, he was too shaken by the tragedy and too focused on his job, the report said.
Aylan's Father
From Aylan's family, only his father Abdullah survived. While his four year-old brother Ghaleb and their mother Rihana had also drowned with him. In a report by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper he said that after the boat sank they had tried to grab on to the boat and stayed like that for an hour "then the first (son) died and I left him so I could help the other, then the second died, so I left him as well to help his mom and I found her dead..what do I do. . .I spent three hours waiting for the coast guard to come. The life jackets we were wearing were all fake.”
Abdullah has gone back to Kobane in Syria and buried his family there on Friday. While he has been offered to live in Canada and Europe, he chooses not to. The only reason he says they were moving was to make sure that the children were safe but after losing them he wants to go back and fight the Islamic State militancy. In a Hindustan Times report, he said "Daesh has taken everything from us. We came to the Turkish government and they were useless,”
While many people have lost their lives fleeing from the raging war in Syria, the Kurdish military in Kobane has only become stronger and are in constant clashes with the IS.
