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A graffiti of the famous picture, painted by Justus Becker and Oguz Sen in Frankfurt, Germany. Image: EPA / DPA
The boy on the beach: an image becomes a symbol of a crisis that continues to this day
Even five years later, the image of Alan Kurdi has not lost its symbolic power. But the mood against refugees and migrants has changed.
When Tima Kurdi heard the call to prayer on the phone in Turkey, tears welled up in her eyes. “I get goose bumps all the time,” he says. “I imagine being back in Damascus, in Syria, and listening to it with my family. I’m getting so emotional … Kurdi’s voice cracks.
Every little detail brings back memories: of his family’s escape from the civil war, of his brother Abdullah and his nephews Alan (2) and Ghalib Kurdi (4), who drowned with their mother Rehanna in the Aegean Sea on September 2 2015..
A photographer for the Turkish news agency DHA took a photo of the dead Alan Kurdi. It was about the world. The boy who washed up on a beach near the Turkish town of Bodrum is lying on his stomach, lifeless, it seems that he is only sleeping.
The red shirt has been pulled up, the blue pants fall to the knees. The image became a symbol of the refugee crisis and the suffering of hundreds of thousands who, like the Kurdish people, tried to reach one of the Greek islands from Turkey by boat.
The image is a wake-up call
Just two days after the tragedy on the night of September 4-5, 2015, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and then Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann decided to allow thousands of refugees to enter the country through the border.
“The image was a wake-up call, it moved people to act, including politicians,” says Tima Kurdi to this day. Kurdi lives in Vancouver, Canada, the conversation in Turkey takes place through video.
A photo of three-year-old Alan Kurdis (left) and his five-year-old brother Galib. Image: AP / Photo courtesy of Tima Kurdi / The Canadian Press
Even five years later, the image of Alan Kurdi has not lost its symbolic power. But the mood against refugees and migrants has changed, in Germany, Europe and also in Turkey.
The fields of Greece are overcrowded and the situation is desperate. Europe cannot agree on the distribution of immigrants. Turkey is grappling with an economic crisis that hits the socially vulnerable first, including refugees and migrants. In Syria, even nine years after the start of the civil war, there is no solution. The corona pandemic is exacerbating the situation.
Erdogan’s leverage
Merkel negotiated a refugee agreement with Turkey in spring 2016. It includes financial support for the 3.6 million Syrians in Turkey.
He also ensured that dangerous attempts to reach Europe via the Aegean Sea were lessened. But the deal is controversial. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly uses it as a lever.
At the end of February, Erdogan had declared that the border with Greece was open. Afghans, Pakistanis and Syrians headed west. They were repulsed by the Greek security forces with tear gas. Again there are disturbing images, again people die.
The Turkish authorities accuse Greece of killing three refugees, which Athens denies. According to Amnesty International, a Syrian woman remains missing. There were no protests.
“People become numb to tragedy because tragedy happens every day,” says Tima Kurdi. His voice is steady now, as is his gaze. Kurdi emigrated to Canada in 1992. Like her brothers Mohammad and Abdullah, Alan’s father, she worked as a hairdresser.
Family founds foundation for refugees
The death of his nephew and sister-in-law changed Tima Kurdi. Now she is a fighter for the rights of refugees and wants to raise awareness and give them a voice. With her brother Abdullah, she founded a foundation for refugee children, addresses an international audience and has written a book about her family’s history, which, as she says, is the fate of many.
Tima Kurdi, the aunt of the late Alan Kurdi, breaks down in tears when she sees a photo of her nephews. Bild: AP / The Canadian Press
He does not like to talk about politics, nor does he support either side in war. “Since the image was published, I have been saying the same thing: end the war in Syria, improve the situation.”
Before the civil war started, the Kurds were a perfectly normal Damascus middle-class family, as Tima Kurdi describes them. She has five siblings. The clashes forced the family to flee. First to the Kurdish border town of Kobane, then, as the IS terrorist militia advanced, to Turkey.
There, Abdullah and Mohammad managed with odd jobs. Tima Kurdi wanted to bring his brothers with their wives and children from Istanbul to Vancouver, but failed due to Canadian bureaucracy and requirements.
Several attempts to escape failed
Several attempts by Abdullah Kurdi to reach the Greek islands with his wife and two children failed. During the last attempt in 2015 the ship capsized and was overloaded. Only Abdullah survived. She now lives in northern Iraq and has remarried. She named her little son after her late son, Alan. The Kurdi family lives scattered all over the world.
Normally, Tima Kurdi would spend the anniversary of the tragedy with her brother Abdullah. But due to the corona pandemic, he cannot travel to Iraq. “He’s very sad about it,” he says. At this time of year, the memories come back to everyone.
Alan Kurdi’s funeral took place in Kobane (Syria) in 2015. Image: EPA / DICLE NEWS AGENCY
For the Kurdi family, the publication of Alan’s photo was difficult to bear. It hurt a lot the first year, says Tima Kurdi today. The image had also sparked a debate about what media should be able to show. The German Press Council decided at the time that it was a symbol for the refugees and their suffering and that there was a public interest in admission.
Was it okay to show the photo in the end? Tima Kurdi says she has “mixed feelings” about it. Her family was not asked for permission. But the photo shocked the world. “If the image helps refugees who are suffering, that’s fine,” she says. “In any case, I will continue to remind the world so that it does not forget the picture of the child on the beach.” (sda / dpa)
