Father of drowned Syrian boys rejects offer of Canada citizenship
The father of two boys, recently washed up dead on a beach in Turkey, says he has dismissed a fresh offer of Canadian citizenship after he lost his wife and both sons during the perilous sea journey to Europe.
Abdullah Kurdi, the father of 3-year-old Aylan and 5-year-old Galip, said earlier this week that he had turned down the offer following international scrutiny of the Canadian government for denying asylum to his family prior to the tragedy.
The man, who also lost his wife Rehana in a desperate voyage from Turkey to Greece, returned to his hometown of Kobani in Syria on Friday and buried his family members.
“He (Abdullah) only wanted to go to Europe for the sake of his children,” said Suleiman Kurdi, Abdullah’s uncle, adding, “Now that they’re dead, he wants to stay here in Kobani next to them.”
Abdullah’s family members were among at least 12 asylum seekers who died while crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos.
“The waves were so high and the boat flipped. I took my wife and my kids in my arms and I realized they were all dead,” said the father of the two.
The haunting image of the body of Aylan Kurdi focused the world’s attention on the wave of refugees who risk their lives to reach Europe after fleeing conflict-hit zones in Africa and the Middle East.
According to Canadian media reports, the Vancouver-based aunt of Aylan Kurdi, Tima, had applied to obtain Canadian refugee status for her relatives in Kobani, which was largely destroyed after being attacked by the Takfiri Daesh terrorists in June 2015.
Canadian authorities, however, said that they had received no refugee application.
According to the latest figures released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, some 2,500 out of the more than 300,000 people, who have used sea routes to reach Europe this year, have lost their lives.
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