Alan Kurdi’s family was fleeing the brutal violence of the civil war in Syria, specifically from the city of Kobane. Seeking safety in Europe, the family boarded a small, overcrowded inflatable rubber boat intended to travel from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos, which was a short distance away across the Aegean Sea.
Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt, 2017)
Just minutes after leaving the Turkish coast, the boat capsized in rough waters. Alan, his five-year-old brother Galib, and his mother Rehan all drowned. His father, Abdullah Kurdi, was the only immediate family member who survived the tragedy.
Public pressure forced several European leaders to react. Most notably, German Chancellor Angela Merkel shifted policies to open Germany’s borders, eventually welcoming over one million refugees.
Humanitarian charities worldwide reported unprecedented spikes in donations for Syrian refugees within 24 hours of the photo’s release.
The image directly impacted national elections and refugee quota debates across Europe and Canada, where the family had a pending immigration application through relatives.
Abdullah Kurdi chose accompanied the bodies of his wife and two young sons back to Syria to bury them in their war-torn hometown of Kobane.
Abdullah moved to Erbil, Iraq (in the Kurdistan Region), where he established the Kurdi Foundation (also known as the Alan & Galib Kurdi Foundation). Rather than utilizing his global recognition for personal gain, he dedicated his life to channeling international donations into aid for refugee children living in camps. His foundation provides:
- Clothing and shoes to young children facing harsh winter conditions.
- School supplies and toys to help restore a sense of normalcy to displaced families.
- Medical aid and food distribution inside volunteer-run refugee centers.
لاکپشتها پرواز میکنند» به انگلیسی میشود (Turtles Can Fly (B. Ghobadi, 2004)
Despite his charitable work, Abdullah has frequently expressed profound sorrow and frustration in interviews marking the anniversaries of the tragedy. He has stated that while the photograph of Alan briefly woke up the conscience of the world, very little has fundamentally changed. He remains vocal about the fact that the Syrian conflict continues, human smugglers are still active, and innocent children are still drowning in the Mediterranean Sea every year.