The Stream

Alan Kurdi: The story behind ‘The Boy on the Beach’

Aunt of 2-year-old who became a tragic icon writes memoir about family’s experience with Syrian refugee crisis.

Sunday will mark three years since the Kurdi family – mother Rehanna and her two young sons Ghalib and Alan – drowned in the Mediterranean Sea along with other Syrian refugees attempting to journey from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos. They were accompanied by their father Abdullah, who was trying to move his family to a place where his sons could have a better future. The iconic photo of 2-year-old Alan, whose tiny body washed up on the shore of the Turkish resort town of Bodrum, became a rallying point for activists and others to offer assistance in the refugee crisis.

Now, Tima Kurdi, Alan’s aunt, has written a book – “The Boy On the Beach” – which traces her family’s story. In this episode, we’ll speak to Tima Kurdi and others about their personal stories related to the Syrian refugee experience.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:

Tima Kurdi @TimaKurdi
Author, “The Boy on the Beach”
kurdifoundation.com

Zaher Sahloul @sahloul
Co-Founder and President, MedGlobal
medglobal.org

Leonard Doyle @LeonardDoyle
Spokesperson, International Organization for Migration
iom.int

 

Read more:

After a photo of her nephew’s drowned body went viral, a Syrian woman tells the family’s story – Washington Post
Refugees have become a pawn in the struggle for Syria – The Economist.

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