LONDON – The picture of drowned Kurdish toddler Alan Kurdi has been included by America’s Time magazine among its “top 100 images of the year.”
The picture of his lifeless body on a Turkish beach touched hearts around the world and prodded Western leaders into action on behalf of refugees, most escaping war in Syria.
The three-year-old boy drowned with his four-year-old brother and a mother not yet 30 as the family was trying to reach the Greek island of Kos from Turkey, a trip made by many thousands of desperate refugees last summer. The trips – and the drownings – have continued.
“2015 has been a year dominated by the migrant and refugee crisis in Europe, as thousands of people from Iraqi, Syria and Afghanistan, among many other nations, fled their homes,” said the magazine’s introduction to its photo selection.
“They left behind war, poverty and persecution in hope of better lives on European shores,” the magazine added.
Included in its selection was the picture of young Alan, his little body lying face down on a beach in Turkey.
The image, seen by millions around the world, prompted support for refugees fleeing wars in Syria and Iraq – many of them Kurds.
In September, a BBC poll showed that Britons who had seen the image were 40 percent more likely to agree to more refugees in the country.
According to Britain’s Independent newspaper, figures released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) showed that one-third of people donating money, goods or their time to refugees were moved to act following the publication of Alan’s image.
After the picture was published, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his country would accept 20,000 Syrian refugees.
In a later tweet, he admitted: “As a father, I felt deeply moved by the sight of that young boy on a beach in Turkey.”
Time magazine ran this text with Alan’s photo: A paramilitary police officer investigates the scene before carrying the lifeless body of Alan Kurdi, 3, after a number of migrants died and others were reported missing when boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized near the Turkish resort of Bodrum on Sept. 2, 2015.”
The picture of his lifeless body on a Turkish beach touched hearts around the world and prodded Western leaders into action on behalf of refugees, most escaping war in Syria.
The three-year-old boy drowned with his four-year-old brother and a mother not yet 30 as the family was trying to reach the Greek island of Kos from Turkey, a trip made by many thousands of desperate refugees last summer. The trips – and the drownings – have continued.
“2015 has been a year dominated by the migrant and refugee crisis in Europe, as thousands of people from Iraqi, Syria and Afghanistan, among many other nations, fled their homes,” said the magazine’s introduction to its photo selection.
“They left behind war, poverty and persecution in hope of better lives on European shores,” the magazine added.
Included in its selection was the picture of young Alan, his little body lying face down on a beach in Turkey.
The image, seen by millions around the world, prompted support for refugees fleeing wars in Syria and Iraq – many of them Kurds.
In September, a BBC poll showed that Britons who had seen the image were 40 percent more likely to agree to more refugees in the country.
According to Britain’s Independent newspaper, figures released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) showed that one-third of people donating money, goods or their time to refugees were moved to act following the publication of Alan’s image.
After the picture was published, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his country would accept 20,000 Syrian refugees.
In a later tweet, he admitted: “As a father, I felt deeply moved by the sight of that young boy on a beach in Turkey.”
Time magazine ran this text with Alan’s photo: A paramilitary police officer investigates the scene before carrying the lifeless body of Alan Kurdi, 3, after a number of migrants died and others were reported missing when boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized near the Turkish resort of Bodrum on Sept. 2, 2015.”
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