Drowned Toddler’s Asylum: Canada Denied Syria’s Refugee, Baby Aylan Kurdi Dies

The drowned Syria toddler, who was found lying near the ocean, was reportedly denied asylum in Canada.

Yesterday, a heart wrenching photo started making its rounds on social media. The photo, which no one would want to see, showed the young boy lying face down in the surf — dead.

Now, we know who the boy was, and why he met such a horrible fate.

According to a report by the Week, the young boy has been identified as Aylan Kurdi, a 3-year-old refugee from Kobani, Syria. Aylan drowned along with his mother, Rehan, 35, and his 5-year-old brother, Galip, along with nine other refugees, when the boat they were traveling in, made for only four passengers, capsized during their attempt to reach the Greek Island of Kos, an entry into Europe for refugees seeking asylum. The only member of Aylan’s family to survive was his father, Abdullah. Another 15 people were rescued from the boat.

The boy who washed up on a Turkish beach has been named as Aylan Kurdi (3) #humanitariancrisis http://t.co/kLTzOfLMIp pic.twitter.com/aTYBOZYlNx

— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) September 2, 2015

Aylan and his family were Kurdish Syrians from Kobani, who were desperately trying to emigrate to Canada. The Times of Israel reports that a Vancouver-area woman had offered to sponsor the woman and her two children, but her request was denied by the immigration officials, Canadian legislator Fin Donnelly said.

Little Aylan Kurdi, washed ashore, suddenly refocuses Syrian tragedy: Nahlah Ayed http://t.co/2sa759y00p

— Sherry Aske (@SherryAske) September 3, 2015

Aylan’s aunt, who emigrated to Vancouver more than 20 years ago, said the family’s “privately funded refugee application had been rejected by Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Department in June,” because the United Nations would not register them as refugees and the Turkish government refused to issue them exit visas.

“I was trying to sponsor them, and I have my friends and my neighbors who helped me with the bank deposits, but we couldn’t get them out, and that is why they went in the boat. I was even paying rent for them in Turkey, but it is horrible the way they treat Syrians there,” Teema Kurdi said.

This is 3 yr old Aylan Kurdi who drowned along w his 5 yr old brother & 4 other children fleeing the Syrian conflict pic.twitter.com/Rnigh9xz8T

— Douglas Booth (@DouglasBooth) September 2, 2015

Teema said her brother Abdullah’s only wish now is to return to Kobani to bury his wife and children, and to one day be buried next to them.

[Photo via Twitter]