Aylan Kurdi playing football.Twitter Aylan Kurdi, 3 along with his family and brother.Twitter Aylan Kurdi has become a tragic symbol of the Mediterranean refugee crisis.Twitter
The three-year-old Kurdish toddler--who shook the conscience of the world after images of him lying dead on a beach in Turkey--loved playing football and was photographed for the last time playing his favourite sport.
The child--Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body on a Mediterranean beach sent shock waves around the world--was trying to make his way to Greece along with his family, when the boat carrying them sank.
The images of the child's body in a red shirt, blue bottoms and tiny velcro-strap shoes were taken on Wednesday after it washed up on the beach in the Turkish resort of Bodrum.
The picture of the little boy's body being carried by a policeman has now become a symbol of the Mediterranean refugee crisis that has sent thousands risking their lives to reach Europe. In Turkey, the picture has sparked an intense debate under Twitter hashtag #kiyiyavuraninsanlik, which in Turkish means "humanity washed up ashore".
Aylan Kurdi - the Child Who Became the Tragic Symbol of Mediterranean Refugee Crisis [Photo Gallery]
The debate has also seen social media users under tag - a Syrian Child Drowns - raising questions on the role of Arab countries. The online users asked the wealthy GCC nations to come to the aide of the Muslim refugees.
While the world debates the consequences of the refugee crisis, the grieving father--Abdullah Kurdi, who lost his entire family comprising wife and two sons--has now requested that he be allowed to take their bodies to Kobane for funeral. The request has reportedly been granted.
It has now emerged that the family wanted to migrate to Canada, where Kurdi's sister lives, but their asylum application was rejected.
