The haunting image of a lifeless, three-year old toddler washed ashore, lying face-down on a beach in Turkey has shook the international media and has forced people to look at the ongoing refugee crisis with new severity.
The Syrian refugees drowned off the coast of the Greek island of Kos, after the boats carrying them sank. Bodies possibly connected with the disaster, washed ashore on a beach in the Turkish town of Bodrum. On Wednesday morning, the Turkish police noticed several bodies on the beach, however, one of them left the police feeling traumatised. The body of a three-year old kid lying still on the cold beach.
Close up shows Aylan Kurdi in an undated Kurdi family photograph outside the home of their aunt in Coquitlam. —Reuters
The father of the child, Abdullah Kurdi, has lost his family to the sea. His wife, Rehan, 3-year-old Aylan and 4-year-old Ghalib. Abdullah Kurdi had dreams for his family, he wanted a new life full of hope and a bright future for both his little kids but he had to pay a grievous price for it and ended up with nothing.
A close up shows Aylan Kurdi (L) and his brother Galip in an undated Kurdi family photograph. —Reuters
Abdullah wanted to start a new life in Canada far away from the life of terror and violence in Syria. Failing to find a getaway from the country, he turned to smugglers to help his family take a trip from Turkey to Greece. He was promised a motorboat but when he came along with his family, he was asked to board a 15-foot rubber raft which was already occupied with enough people. Seeing no other way, he got on the overburdened raft with his family. However, the captain of the boat jumped off and swam to the shore when the boat was met with high waves.
Abdullah tried to steer the boat himself but it overturned. In a last attempt, the father tried to keep his children afloat but one of them drowned, he left him and tried to keep the other child alive, he pushed the other child to his wife pleading her to "keep his head above the water" only to find that his wife had drowned too. Abdullah was the only survivor left from the tragedy.
A paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi which was found on the beach. —Reuters
His children and wife are gone and he says he has nothing to live for now. He crossed the dangerous sea to give them a hopeful life but they ultimately met the very thing they were fleeing from. Abdullah said, "Now I don’t want anything. Even if you give me all the countries in the world, I don’t want them. What was precious is gone."
Abdullah Kurdi cries as he leaves a morgue in Mugla,Turkey,September 3, 2015. —Reuters
Aunt of the drowned boys, Tima Kurdi who was hoping to meet them broke down in tears and said, "I’m blaming the whole world for this." She called the tragic deaths a wake-up call for international community, and that stopping the war would be key to ending “all of this.” “My brother’s message to the world is to help those people crossing the water," she said.
Tima Kurdi, sister of Syrian refugee Abdullah Kurdi, cries while speaking to the media outside her home. —Reuters
Thousands of people have died this year in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean sea to reach Europe. The refugee crisis is surging and thousands of refugees are expected to reach the European countries this year, it is time for the European Union to take a firm stand in the favour of refugees and open a window which allows them a chance to start their life afresh.
