WATCH: Father of drowned boys buries family at Kobani funeral
An obituary has been published in an Australian newspaper to honour little Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy whose body was found facedown on a beach in Turkey Wednesday morning.
“You did not deserve to drown in the coldness of water and in the coldness of human indifference,” read the obituary published Friday in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“You were not a migrant. You were not a refugee. You were a 3-year-old little boy wanting to play safely, away from threats of violence and war.
READ MORE: Will this photo help people grasp the desperation of Syrian refugees?
“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 Alan Kurdi. May God forgive us for failing you.”
The tribute was accompanied by an image of a teddy bear.
Photos of the boy’s lifeless body, published around the globe, have largely changed the conversation surrounding the refugee crisis in Europe, and urged calls for action.
The Kurdi family was attempting to reach Greece and the safety of the European Union when the boat they were travelling in capsized. Alan, his five-year-old brother Ghalib, and their mother, Rehan, drowned. The boy’s father, Abdullah, survived.
READ MORE: Refugee crisis: What can you do to help?
On Friday, Abdullah travelled back to Syria to bury the bodies of his family.
The boy’s aunt told reporters from her Coquitlam, B.C. home that she blames herself for the deaths, and that she plans to bring Abdullah to Canada.
“He said I don’t need anything from this world anymore. What I had was gone,” Tima Kurdi quoted Abdullah saying. “He can not be by himself there,” she added.
WATCH BELOW: Watch the full press conference with Tima Kurdi.
With files from Amy Judd
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