Graphic photos of a Syrian toddler who died alongside his brother and mother on a dangerous track across the Mediterranean, and whose body ended up at one of Turkey’s most luxurious tourist resorts have stirred uproar and fueled the refugee and migrant crisis debate.
The dead boy lying face down at the beach of Turkish Bodrum on the photo is three-year-old Aylan Kurdi. His brother, five-year-old Galip Kurdi and mother have drowned as well. The family reportedly fled the Syrian town of Kobani, located by the Turkish border, an area which has been suffering from heavy battles between Islamic State militants and Kurdish forces, as well as anti-ISIS coalition airstrikes.
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Their overcrowded rubber boat was heading to the Greek island of Kos when it capsized leaving most of the asylum seekers dead. None of the boys had life jackets and had little chance to survive the tragedy.
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Just hours later another boat that sailed off from the Akyarlar area of the Bodrum peninsula went down. At least four people, including a woman and three children, drowned, while two others with life vests on managed to reach the shore, according to the Turkish Dogan news agency.
Twelve people were confirmed dead in the two accidents, while only nine survived and hope to find the two still missing faded.
The gut-wrenching image of the boy, as well as another shot and video footage showing a Turkish police officer carrying the tiny body away have been shared online thousands of times.
@MikeyKayNYC one of the most heartbreaking images I have seen in a long time. I'm going to hug my son so hard tonight. Jesus.
— Sarah (@redpainter1234) September 2, 2015
After the pictures went public social media exploded with outrage, putting the hashtag “KiyiyaVuranInsanlik” meaning “humanity washed ashore” on top of trending topics on Twitter.
The latest refugee deaths only increase this year’s official, tragic statistics: At least 2,500 people who despite the risks left their war-torn homelands and died while trying to reach Europe by sea.
The route from Bodrum to Kos is only 13 miles long (nearly 21 km) which makes it one of the shortest and easiest ways from Turkey to the Greek islands. This summer tens of thousands refugees flooded Turkey’s Aegean coast to make their way to the European Union. According to the Turkish coastguard at least 100 people had been rescued from the water on Wednesday night alone as they tried to reach the island of Kos.
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