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| Alan Kurdi’s father on his family tragedy: ‘I should have died with them’ | Alan Kurdi’s father on his family tragedy: ‘I should have died with them’ |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| Abdullah Kurdi strikes a refined note sitting in the Saray Cafe of the luxury Divan Hotel in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region. He is in crisp new clothes bought for him by his sister Tima, who has flown from Canada to be by her brother’s side for our interview. The hovering “protocol officer” provided by Abdullah’s hosts, the Kurdistan Regional Government, reinforces what the local leadership wants to convey: this is an important man, deserving of VIP treatment. | Abdullah Kurdi strikes a refined note sitting in the Saray Cafe of the luxury Divan Hotel in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region. He is in crisp new clothes bought for him by his sister Tima, who has flown from Canada to be by her brother’s side for our interview. The hovering “protocol officer” provided by Abdullah’s hosts, the Kurdistan Regional Government, reinforces what the local leadership wants to convey: this is an important man, deserving of VIP treatment. |
| It is more than a month since Kurdi was thrust into the spotlight, but his expression is still etched with turmoil: jaw permanently clenched, eyes hollow. Crumpled and tentative, his body language belies the practised determination of his words. | It is more than a month since Kurdi was thrust into the spotlight, but his expression is still etched with turmoil: jaw permanently clenched, eyes hollow. Crumpled and tentative, his body language belies the practised determination of his words. |
| “I want to open a charity for the children of Kobani,” he says. “I am visiting refugee camps in the name of my son Alan. I have seen their suffering. I will not fail them.” | “I want to open a charity for the children of Kobani,” he says. “I am visiting refugee camps in the name of my son Alan. I have seen their suffering. I will not fail them.” |
| It was a different Kurdi who faced the media in the days after the image of his drowned three-year-old son, Alan (initially misreported as Aylan), went viral and focused the world’s attention on the plight of Syria’s refugees. Unshaven and in a state of shock, the 39-year-old barber struggled to explain what had happened on the night of 2 September, when the flimsy inflatable boat carrying himself, his wife, Rehanna, 35, and his two young boys – Ghalib, 5, and Alan – along with at least eight other refugees, sank in rough seas between the Turkish resort city of Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos. | It was a different Kurdi who faced the media in the days after the image of his drowned three-year-old son, Alan (initially misreported as Aylan), went viral and focused the world’s attention on the plight of Syria’s refugees. Unshaven and in a state of shock, the 39-year-old barber struggled to explain what had happened on the night of 2 September, when the flimsy inflatable boat carrying himself, his wife, Rehanna, 35, and his two young boys – Ghalib, 5, and Alan – along with at least eight other refugees, sank in rough seas between the Turkish resort city of Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos. |
| “I was holding my wife’s hand,” he told Turkey’s Dogan news agency. “But my children slipped through my hands. It was dark and everyone was screaming.” | “I was holding my wife’s hand,” he told Turkey’s Dogan news agency. “But my children slipped through my hands. It was dark and everyone was screaming.” |
| “I tried to catch my wife and children but there was no hope,” he explained to the BBC, choking back tears. “One by one, they died.” | “I tried to catch my wife and children but there was no hope,” he explained to the BBC, choking back tears. “One by one, they died.” |
| In 2015, the photograph of Alan, lying dead on a Turkish beach, became the defining symbol of the tragedy of Syria’s refugees. His death, and the photo that was shared endlessly on social media, became a clarion call. | In 2015, the photograph of Alan, lying dead on a Turkish beach, became the defining symbol of the tragedy of Syria’s refugees. His death, and the photo that was shared endlessly on social media, became a clarion call. |
| Abdullah’s story was seen as emblematic of the desperation that drove Syria’s displaced to take life-threatening risks for a chance to reach safety. At first, the world responded with sympathy: donations to charities surged in the days after Alan’s death. The UK promised to take in 20,000 Syrians; France, 24,000, while Germany temporarily opened its doors without conditions. | Abdullah’s story was seen as emblematic of the desperation that drove Syria’s displaced to take life-threatening risks for a chance to reach safety. At first, the world responded with sympathy: donations to charities surged in the days after Alan’s death. The UK promised to take in 20,000 Syrians; France, 24,000, while Germany temporarily opened its doors without conditions. |
| There was a relentless barrage of interviews with Kurdi, repeatedly asking him to relive the moment that his wife and children died. Headlines tracked every permutation of his grief, from his desire to spend the rest of his life sitting next to the grave of his family to his vow to join the fight against Isis. | There was a relentless barrage of interviews with Kurdi, repeatedly asking him to relive the moment that his wife and children died. Headlines tracked every permutation of his grief, from his desire to spend the rest of his life sitting next to the grave of his family to his vow to join the fight against Isis. |
| “I will stay and fight for Kobani, fight for the family I have left and for my people,” he told Newsweek days after he buried his wife and children in his hometown in northern Syria. “I feel like I have lost everything, that my life is over, but I must fight and struggle for what’s left.” | “I will stay and fight for Kobani, fight for the family I have left and for my people,” he told Newsweek days after he buried his wife and children in his hometown in northern Syria. “I feel like I have lost everything, that my life is over, but I must fight and struggle for what’s left.” |
| But the outpouring of sympathy didn’t last long. Within a week of the tragedy, accusations surfaced that Kurdi may have been a people-smuggler after one of the survivors claimed he had organised the fateful journey across the Aegean and driven the flimsy rubber boat himself, despite having no boating experience. He was called a callous opportunist who used his status as a Syrian refugee for personal gain. | But the outpouring of sympathy didn’t last long. Within a week of the tragedy, accusations surfaced that Kurdi may have been a people-smuggler after one of the survivors claimed he had organised the fateful journey across the Aegean and driven the flimsy rubber boat himself, despite having no boating experience. He was called a callous opportunist who used his status as a Syrian refugee for personal gain. |
| The facts proved otherwise. Investigations into the smuggling operations in Turkey showed that refugees were often tasked with helping smugglers sign up passengers for smuggling trips. Their language skills and contacts inside refugee communities made them ideal as middlemen. It was also not uncommon for one of the passengers to be given the responsibility of driving the boat. No smuggler, with family in Turkey and a steady income from the lucrative smuggling trade, would want to end up illegally in Europe and risk not being able to return home, where he would be likely to face arrest anyway. | The facts proved otherwise. Investigations into the smuggling operations in Turkey showed that refugees were often tasked with helping smugglers sign up passengers for smuggling trips. Their language skills and contacts inside refugee communities made them ideal as middlemen. It was also not uncommon for one of the passengers to be given the responsibility of driving the boat. No smuggler, with family in Turkey and a steady income from the lucrative smuggling trade, would want to end up illegally in Europe and risk not being able to return home, where he would be likely to face arrest anyway. |
| Related: Shocking images of drowned Syrian boy show tragic plight of refugees | Related: Shocking images of drowned Syrian boy show tragic plight of refugees |
| But the accusations were enough to redefine Kurdi’s tragedy and Alan’s photograph. | But the accusations were enough to redefine Kurdi’s tragedy and Alan’s photograph. |
| “The father sent them on that boat so he could get dental treatment,” claimed Australian senator Cory Bernardi. “They were in no danger in Turkey.” | |
| Others made even more outrageous claims. Kurdi, they said, was profiting from the tragedy, including selling his dead son’s clothes to a museum in Paris. Others claimed that the image of Alan on the beach had been faked. | Others made even more outrageous claims. Kurdi, they said, was profiting from the tragedy, including selling his dead son’s clothes to a museum in Paris. Others claimed that the image of Alan on the beach had been faked. |
| The photograph of Alan was appropriated by satirical publications such as Charlie Hebdo, which published a series of cartoons in mid-September using the image of Alan to criticise Europe’s refugee policy. It was endlessly re-contextualised in memes, morphing and re-morphing on the internet. Some criticised world leaders for failing to act; others condemned Kurdi himself for putting his child in such a dangerous situation. | The photograph of Alan was appropriated by satirical publications such as Charlie Hebdo, which published a series of cartoons in mid-September using the image of Alan to criticise Europe’s refugee policy. It was endlessly re-contextualised in memes, morphing and re-morphing on the internet. Some criticised world leaders for failing to act; others condemned Kurdi himself for putting his child in such a dangerous situation. |
| The experience left Kurdi bitter. “I wanted to make the international community open their hearts to the plight of the refugees,” he says when we speak in Erbil. “But no one was listening. Everyone just wanted to use that picture and what happened to me for their own purposes.” | The experience left Kurdi bitter. “I wanted to make the international community open their hearts to the plight of the refugees,” he says when we speak in Erbil. “But no one was listening. Everyone just wanted to use that picture and what happened to me for their own purposes.” |
| Related: Aylan Kurdi: this one small life has shown us the way to tackle the refugee crisis | Jonathan Freedland | Related: Aylan Kurdi: this one small life has shown us the way to tackle the refugee crisis | Jonathan Freedland |
| The demands and accusations that followed took their toll. “When I saw him for the first time he was barely recognisable,” says his sister Tima. “Before the tragedy, life was a smile to him. But by the time I reached him, the playfulness was gone.” | The demands and accusations that followed took their toll. “When I saw him for the first time he was barely recognisable,” says his sister Tima. “Before the tragedy, life was a smile to him. But by the time I reached him, the playfulness was gone.” |
| In September, Kurdi was invited to Erbil by the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani. By this point, he had already spoken to more than a dozen world leaders, been offered citizenship by the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and had promises from activists and human rights workers that the death of his family would not be in vain. | In September, Kurdi was invited to Erbil by the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani. By this point, he had already spoken to more than a dozen world leaders, been offered citizenship by the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and had promises from activists and human rights workers that the death of his family would not be in vain. |
| “Prime minister Barzani was the one who gave me the idea of opening a charity,” Kurdi says. But even senior humanitarian officials doubted the Kurdistan leadership’s motivations were entirely benevolent. The Kurds in Iraq have been struggling for independence for decades. “In that context, Abdullah [who is a Syrian Kurd] represents an opportunity to highlight the Kurdish issue,” says Aziz Sheikh Reza, head of the Barzani Foundation, a non-governmental organisation provided aid to Kurdish refugees. | “Prime minister Barzani was the one who gave me the idea of opening a charity,” Kurdi says. But even senior humanitarian officials doubted the Kurdistan leadership’s motivations were entirely benevolent. The Kurds in Iraq have been struggling for independence for decades. “In that context, Abdullah [who is a Syrian Kurd] represents an opportunity to highlight the Kurdish issue,” says Aziz Sheikh Reza, head of the Barzani Foundation, a non-governmental organisation provided aid to Kurdish refugees. |
| “Abdullah’s tragedy is the tragedy of all Kurds,” one Kurdistan official said. “For us, the image of Alan is the image of every Kurdish child who has died at the hands of terrorists and hostile governments.” | “Abdullah’s tragedy is the tragedy of all Kurds,” one Kurdistan official said. “For us, the image of Alan is the image of every Kurdish child who has died at the hands of terrorists and hostile governments.” |
| The symbol was hijacked again. This time, Kurdi was no longer a desperate father seeking out a new life for his wife and children; nor was he the cold-hearted Fagin ready to sacrifice his own children for monetary gain. Kurdi, in this version, embodied the suffering of all Kurds in their struggle for self-determination. Almost immediately upon arrival in Iraqi Kurdistan, he was put to work promoting the Kurdish cause. Within days, he was made an honorary member of the Peshmerga, Iraq’s Kurdish militia, and given a tour of the frontlines in the fight against Isis. He was chauffeured to refugee camps, where he distributed school supplies to children on behalf of the Barzani Foundation, and honoured at a graduation ceremony for students of a human rights programme where the photograph of his dead son adorned the walls of the auditorium. | The symbol was hijacked again. This time, Kurdi was no longer a desperate father seeking out a new life for his wife and children; nor was he the cold-hearted Fagin ready to sacrifice his own children for monetary gain. Kurdi, in this version, embodied the suffering of all Kurds in their struggle for self-determination. Almost immediately upon arrival in Iraqi Kurdistan, he was put to work promoting the Kurdish cause. Within days, he was made an honorary member of the Peshmerga, Iraq’s Kurdish militia, and given a tour of the frontlines in the fight against Isis. He was chauffeured to refugee camps, where he distributed school supplies to children on behalf of the Barzani Foundation, and honoured at a graduation ceremony for students of a human rights programme where the photograph of his dead son adorned the walls of the auditorium. |
| Shutters fired from the Kurdish press, as Kurdi fought back tears at the sight of the posters. He produced wan smiles, shook hands and endured selfies. Later, he would return to his hotel room and cry with his sister Tima. | Shutters fired from the Kurdish press, as Kurdi fought back tears at the sight of the posters. He produced wan smiles, shook hands and endured selfies. Later, he would return to his hotel room and cry with his sister Tima. |
| In those moments, Kurdi reflected on his story: the barber who fell in love “on first sight” with Rehanna, a seamstress; their happy times in a working-class neighbourhood on the slopes of Mount Qassioun, overlooking Damascus; summers working the family olive groves in Kobani, the onset of war and the rise of Isis and all the horrors that followed; the frantic escape and the struggle to survive as refugees in a world that increasingly saw them as a threat; finally, the death of his family. | In those moments, Kurdi reflected on his story: the barber who fell in love “on first sight” with Rehanna, a seamstress; their happy times in a working-class neighbourhood on the slopes of Mount Qassioun, overlooking Damascus; summers working the family olive groves in Kobani, the onset of war and the rise of Isis and all the horrors that followed; the frantic escape and the struggle to survive as refugees in a world that increasingly saw them as a threat; finally, the death of his family. |
| Tima, who returned to Canada in mid-October, says: “Abdullah and Rehanna were on their way to a good life. They were so happy together. But the war changed everything.” | Tima, who returned to Canada in mid-October, says: “Abdullah and Rehanna were on their way to a good life. They were so happy together. But the war changed everything.” |
| Kurdi remains in Iraqi Kurdistan in Erbil, where the Barzani family has offered him a home and permanent residency. There is the promise of the refugee children’s charity, though little progress has been made. Other promises include rebuilding the hospital in Kobani where Alan was born, as well as a school dedicated to his memory. But these might be a long way off – Kobani has neither freed itself completely from the threat of Isis, nor begun to heal from the damage the militant group caused during their siege of the town last year. | Kurdi remains in Iraqi Kurdistan in Erbil, where the Barzani family has offered him a home and permanent residency. There is the promise of the refugee children’s charity, though little progress has been made. Other promises include rebuilding the hospital in Kobani where Alan was born, as well as a school dedicated to his memory. But these might be a long way off – Kobani has neither freed itself completely from the threat of Isis, nor begun to heal from the damage the militant group caused during their siege of the town last year. |
| Abdullah also finds himself caught between the Kurds in Syria and those in Iraq. Each has claimed him as its own and makes demands on him. “People in Kobani think he has become rich and come to him demanding that he pay for their medical expenses,” says Tima. “In Kurdistan, people think he has somehow become politically powerful because of the help the Barzanis have given him, and ask him to intervene on their behalf with the government. He’s under so much stress now and he doesn’t know what to do. He wants to help but he has no means to do it.” | Abdullah also finds himself caught between the Kurds in Syria and those in Iraq. Each has claimed him as its own and makes demands on him. “People in Kobani think he has become rich and come to him demanding that he pay for their medical expenses,” says Tima. “In Kurdistan, people think he has somehow become politically powerful because of the help the Barzanis have given him, and ask him to intervene on their behalf with the government. He’s under so much stress now and he doesn’t know what to do. He wants to help but he has no means to do it.” |
| People are still accusing Abdullah of murdering his family. They say he is a criminal and should be put in jail | People are still accusing Abdullah of murdering his family. They say he is a criminal and should be put in jail |
| His brother Mohammed reapplied for asylum in Canada from Germany in October, and his case looks promising. But that news caused problems for his wife and children, who remain in Istanbul. Tima says they have received death threats. | His brother Mohammed reapplied for asylum in Canada from Germany in October, and his case looks promising. But that news caused problems for his wife and children, who remain in Istanbul. Tima says they have received death threats. |
| “People are still accusing Abdullah of murdering his family,” Tima says. “They say he is a criminal and should be put in jail. Other refugees in Istanbul say Mohammed is only receiving special consideration because of Abdullah’s fame.” | “People are still accusing Abdullah of murdering his family,” Tima says. “They say he is a criminal and should be put in jail. Other refugees in Istanbul say Mohammed is only receiving special consideration because of Abdullah’s fame.” |
| In Erbil, Kurdi’s state of mind is deteriorating. Recent events, particularly the attacks in Paris, have triggered a spiral into an even deeper depression. | In Erbil, Kurdi’s state of mind is deteriorating. Recent events, particularly the attacks in Paris, have triggered a spiral into an even deeper depression. |
| “Abdullah is so afraid of what is happening to the refugees,” she says. “He says his heart was crying after what happened in Paris. ‘Why are they so afraid of us?’ he asks me all the time. ‘These are desperate people. They need love but instead they are treated with fear.’” | “Abdullah is so afraid of what is happening to the refugees,” she says. “He says his heart was crying after what happened in Paris. ‘Why are they so afraid of us?’ he asks me all the time. ‘These are desperate people. They need love but instead they are treated with fear.’” |
| In the Saray Cafe of the Divan Hotel, Kurdi is no doubt aware of the role he is required to play. But the details give him away. He smokes incessantly and finds it difficult to keep his focus. During the course of a brief, 30-minute interview, he is constantly scrolling through his mobile phone to see what the internet is saying about Alan. In the end, he simply gives up trying. His inner voice comes to the surface. | In the Saray Cafe of the Divan Hotel, Kurdi is no doubt aware of the role he is required to play. But the details give him away. He smokes incessantly and finds it difficult to keep his focus. During the course of a brief, 30-minute interview, he is constantly scrolling through his mobile phone to see what the internet is saying about Alan. In the end, he simply gives up trying. His inner voice comes to the surface. |
| “I should have died with them,” he snaps, standing up abruptly and walking quickly away. | “I should have died with them,” he snaps, standing up abruptly and walking quickly away. |
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