This was published 8 years ago
Someone has placed an anonymous, heartfelt notice for little Aylan
By James Robertson
Tributes have poured in for little Aylan Kurdi, the toddler whose lifeless body on a Turkish beach has so grimly focused global attention on an escalating refugee crisis.
Images of the drowned boy sparked political outcry and mourning in equal measure. A death notice, placed anonymously in today's Sydney Morning Herald, reads:
Aylan Kurdi, left, with his brother Galip.
"You did not deserve to drown in the coldness of water and in the coldness of human indifference.
"You were not a Migrant. You were not a Refugee. You were a 3yr old little boy wanting to play safely, away from the threats of violence and war.
Death notice in SMH for Aylan.
"In Heaven, you will be nursed by those who held you, by those who kissed you and by those who risked everything in the hope of you reaching the shores of safety.
"Rest In Peace Aylan Kurdi. May God forgive us for failing you."
The three-year-old drowned alongside his five-year-old brother, Galip, and their mother after the boat they were in capsized as they tried to reach Greece from Turkey. The family came from a Kurdish region of northern Syria.
Three other children and seven adults also drowned in the failed crossing.
Aylan's father, Abdullah, spoke on Friday and described his anguished attempts to save them.
"All I want is to be with my children at the moment," he told a reporter for the Associated Press before he was unable to continue speaking.
Several tributes and political-calls-to-action have been posted on social media under the hashtags #WeCanDoBetter and #humanitywashedashore, or its Turkish equivalent #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik.
"Some 2500 refugees and migrants are estimated to have died or gone missing this year, trying to reach Europe," United Nations refugee agency UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in a statement last week. That figure that does not include this week's deaths.
The escalating crisis has led to calls for Britain and other EU member states to open their borders to accommodate greater numbers of refugees. Authorities in Macedonia last month tear-gassed migrants on its border with Greece.
About 300,000 people have tried to enter Greece and Italy this year via a dangerous route across the Mediterranean, according to the UNHCR.
Trafficking into the EU is thought to generate far more than $3 billion a year in income for people smugglers, estimates by the UN have found.