Death of Alan Kurdi
 | It has been suggested that Photos of Aylan Kurdi's corpse be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2015. |
Aylan Kurdi[1] or Alan Kurdi[2] was a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish descent[3] who made headlines around the world after being drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, as part of the Syrian refugee crisis. He along with his family was in an inflatable boat which sank shortly after leaving Bodrum in Turkey on 2 September 2015, trying to reach the Greek island of Kos, which is just 2.5 miles away by water from Bodrum. It is important to note that none of the people in the boats had a life jacket (or life vest).[4]
Kurdi was either born in the Syrian city of Damascus or Kobane.[5] His family had planned to join their relatives in Vancouver, Canada. His aunt, Tima Kurdi, had filed a refugee case in Canada for the benefit of her brothers Mohammad and Abdullah, which includes their spouses and children. The application was rejected by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada in part because they were denied an exit visa by Turkish authorities.[4] This means that the families had to first sneak out of Turkey, without Turkish authorities finding out. 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.[6]
The photograph of Aylan's lifeless body which had washed ashore caused grave international concern.[citation needed] The photographer is journalist Nilufer Demir.[7]
Description of the published photos of Kurdi's corpse
[These 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".[8]
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.[9] 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.[10]
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."[8]
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.[11]
Reporting controversy
Initially reports indicated that Canadian immigration authorities denied the family's application. However, later reports revealed that the application was made only for Alyan's uncle and rejected because it was not complete.[12][13][14]
See also
References
- ^ According to his family, the spelling of the boy's name had been changed by Turkish authorities to Aylan, but was in fact spelled as Alan.[1]
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Death of Syrian toddler throws global spotlight onto refugees crisis". LA Times. 3 September 2015.
- ^ "'If these images don't change Europe, what will?'". AlJazeera. 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.
- ^ "Aunt of Alan Kurdi, drowned Syrian boy, did not apply to sponsor family in Canada". CBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Canada denies Alan Kurdi's family applied for asylum". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2015.