Alan Kurdi drowned when a boat attempting the perilous crossing from Turkey to Greece, capsized. Alan’s mother and 5-year old brother also perished in the accident, leaving his father, Abdullah, as the only survivor.
The powerful, tragic picture of the boy’s lifeless corpse lying face down in the waves of a Turkish beach instigated an outpouring of global grief and inspired a wave of international compassion.
It highlighted the plight of the hundreds of thousands of refugees flooding out of war-torn Syria and drew worldwide attention to what is, according to the International Organization for Migration, the most deadly crossing point in the world.
Tima Kurdi is now privately sponsoring her family as refugees in Canada and they are looking forward to a fresh start.
Alan’s father — Tima’s older brother — has declined the invitation to come to Canada and is now living in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, CNN affiliate CBC reports.
A teary Tima expressed her thanks to the Canadian government and translated her brother Mohammad’s gratitude.
“Thank you… we almost lost hope,” he said.
But while they said they were happy to be reunited, they said what they really wished for was a peaceful future for Syria.
Read more
