WARNING: This post contains content some viewers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
A four-year-old Syrian girl has become the latest tragic symbol of the refugee crisis, in a scene that is all too reminiscent of the drowning of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old boy whose body washed ashore on the Turkish coast in early September.
Much like the photograph of Alan, a girl identified only as ‘Sena’ was pulled from the shallow coastal waters near the Turkish resort area of Bodrum after a boat carrying refugees and migrants to the Greek isles overturned in the Aegean Sea.
READ MORE: Will this photo help people grasp the desperation of Syrian refugees?
“Her mother was constantly addressing her child as Sena while they were boarding the boat,” Mirvan Hassan, a migrant who was rescued after the disaster, told Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkish fishermen found Sena’s body on Sunday, four days after the dinghy she was in capsized in the Aegean Sea, according to Hurriyet.
The fishermen spotted the young girl’s lifeless body wedged among the rocks on the shore of the Turkish island of Çatalada, less than three kilometres off the Bodrum peninsula and within just a few more kilometres of the Greek islands that have become an entry point into Europe for more than 700,000 refugees and migrants so far this year.
The Daily Sabah reported Sena was one of 15 Syrian refugees who went missing when the boat capsized on Nov. 18; nine bodies have been recovered so far.
READ MORE: Should Canada stop bringing in Syrian refugees because of the Paris attacks? Experts say no.
She was making the risky journey with her family, much like Alan Kurdi and his five-year-old brother Ghalib who also washed ashore on Sept. 2. They young boys’ mother also died, but their father survived.
The heart-wrenching photo of a Turkish rescue worker standing over Alan’s limp body galvanized people around the world to call on their governments to address the refugee crisis.
WARNING: This below image contains content some viewers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
Alan and Sena are just two of the children known to have drowned so far this year. In the weeks since that now-iconic image of Alan Kurdi came to symbolize the desperation of refugee and migrant families, willing to risk their lives for a chance at a safer life in Europe, at least 77 children have drowned.
More than 3,500 people have died at sea trying to reach the shores of Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration, many of them having fled the four-and-a-half-year civil war in Syria and the brutality of the so-called Islamic State (also known as ISIS).
As the outcry over the tragedy swelled, it was learned that Alan Kurdi’s aunt lived in British Columbia. Tima Kurdi had been helping her brother, Alan’s father Abdullah, try to get to Greece.
READ MORE: ‘They didn’t deserve to die’: aunt of Syrian boys who drowned off Turkey
The tragic story also became an issue for political leaders in the lead-up to the federal election. Conservative leader Stephen Harper, who ultimately lost the election, struggled to defend putting the emphasis on fighting ISIS over resettling Syrian refugees in a more timely manner.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government have vowed to resettle 25,000 Syrians in Canada by the end of this year. Although the federal government won’t reveal the final details of its resettlement plans until Tuesday, the Liberals have faced criticism for trying to resettle too many people too fast and whether the screening processes will be enough to prevent security lapses.
An exclusive Ipsos poll for Global News, released last week, found 60 per cent of Canadians disagree with the Liberal plan to resettle that many Syrians in Canada by the end of 2015.
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