Death of Alan Kurdi
Aylan Kurdi or Alan Kurdi[1] was a 3 year old Syrian-Kurdish[2] boy from Kobane[3] who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, as part of the Syrian refugee crisis. He was in a boat which sank shortly after leaving Bodrum in Turkey, trying to reach the Greek island of Kos.
His family had tried to join their relatives in Canada. His aunt, Teema Kurdi, had applied for refugee status on behalf of his uncle Mohammad, brother of Aylan's father Abdullah. That application was rejected by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada in part because they were denied an exit visa by Turkish authorities[4]. NDP MP Fin Donnelly had hand-delivered their file to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander earlier this year, but the application was rejected in June 2015[5].
The photograph of Aylan's body washed ashore caused grave international concern; the photographer is journalist Nilufer Demir.[6]
Description of the published photos of Kurdi's corpse
[This type of] "photos are often cynically cropped to exclude adults, in order to accentuate the vulnerability of the kid. Rather than focus on drowned adults, the Guardian and the Independent have instead focussed only on Aylan’s tiny, pathetic body".[7]
At least one of the published photos shows no other persons.
Reactions to the photos
The picture has been credited with causing a surge in donations to charities helping migrants and refugees, with one charity, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, recording a 15-fold increase in donations within 24 hours of its publication.[8] British Prime Minister David Cameron said that he was 'deeply moved' by the picture, and indicated that the British government would accept a greater number of refugees from Syria.[9]
Criticism of the general public's responses to the picture
In a 3 September 2015 The Spectator website article Brendan O'Neill said "The global spreading of this snapshot — which appears on the front page of the Independent today and inside the Guardian, and is even callously being turned into a meme by sections of the weeping Twitterati — is justified as a way of raising awareness about the migrant crisis. Please. It’s more like a snuff photo for progressives, dead-child porn, designed not to start a serious debate about migration in the 21st century but to elicit a self-satisfied feeling of sadness among Western observers."[7]
Canadian minister suspending election campaign
Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced he would be temporarily suspending his campaigning in the the 2015 Canadian federal election to return to Ottawa to resume his ministerial duties and investigate the case of Aylan Kurdi, whose family's application for refugee status in Canada had been rejected by his ministry.[10]
Reporting controversy
Initially it was reported that Canadian immigration authorities denied the family's application. However, it is now being reported that the application was incomplete and only made for one family member.[11]
External links
References
- ^ "Canada denies Alan Kurdi's family applied for asylum". BBC. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Aylan and Galip Kurdi: Everything we know about drowned Syrian refugee boys". The Telegraph. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "'If these images don't change Europe, what will?'". AlJazeera. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Death of Syrian toddler throws global spotlight onto refugees crisis". LA Times. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Alan Kurdi drowned off the shores of Turkey. His family was trying to reach Canada". National Post. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "Syrian toddler's dad: 'Everything I was dreaming of is gone'". CNN. 3 September 2015.
- ^ a b Sharing a photo of a dead Syrian child isn’t compassionate, it’s narcissistic
- ^ Henley, Jon (3 September 2015). "Britons rally to help people fleeing war and terror in Middle East". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Wintour, Patrick (3 September 2015). "Cameron bows to pressure to let in more Syrian refugees". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Donnelly, Aileen (3 September 2015). "Chris Alexander suspends campaign after news that boy's family was planning to come to Canada". National Post. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Thanh Ha, Tu. "Family of drowned boy did not apply for asylum: Ottawa". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 September 2015.