Remembering the death of little Aylan, and the tragedy that continues for refugees

Aylan Kurdi’s death while crossing the Mediterranean caused an outcry, but children continue to suffer along the Syrian conflicts’ many front lines, writes Mina Aldroubi

Exactly two years ago a shocking image spread around the world. it showed a little boy, dressed in a red T-shirt and denim shorts lying on a beach in Turkey. He lay bent at the waist, as if folded over. Although he looked as if he was sleeping peacefully, he was not. He was dead and his death had been far from peaceful.

He had fallen from an unseaworthy boat into the cold waters of the night-time Mediterranean Sea and drowned – one of the mass of migrants fleeing war, despair and poverty in the hope of finding a better, safer life in Europe. But he did not remain anonymous for long and soon the world knew a great deal about the pitiful little boy.

His name was Aylan Kurdi. He was a Syrian of Kurdish ethnicity, and he was only three years old.

Aylan became the symbol of many things: the desperation that drives people to risk everything to make the treacherous journey across the sea to countries that do not necessarily welcome them, even if they recognise the horror of what they have escaped. He symbolised the collective outrage at a regime that frightens and oppresses its people to the point of such despair. And he became the symbol for the “something must be done” brigade, those who clamour for action and compassion from governments.

In truth, however, not much has changed for refugees since Aylan’s body washed up on the beach in Turkey. Very little especially has changed for child refugees. Unlike their parents and other adults, they do not even have the comfort of memories of happier times. All they have known is war, death, brutality and uncertainty. Not for them a peaceful night’s sleep, the assurance of the next meal, or the routine of school and games with their friends. Even experienced psychologists are shocked by the inability of these children to be children, because they do not know how.

In a series starting today, The National looks at the plight of refugees and migrants, starting today with the children who, unlike Aylan, managed to escape – but to what?

Two years ago the world was shocked by the pitiful image of a little boy in a red T-shirt lying face down in the sand on a Turkish beach.

Soon, the world learnt all about him. His name was Aylan Kurdi, he was from Syria but of Kurdish ethnicity and he was only three when he met his death in the Mediterranean.

Along with his mother Rehana and his five-year-old brother Galip, 5, Aylan drowned after the boat smuggling the family to Europe took on water and capsized.

Desperate to escape the war in Syria, his family undertook a risky journey that has cost the lives of many migrants. The toddler’s lonely death moved millions and caused an international outcry.

Aylan Kurdi became a symbol of Syria’s crisis.

Today, the world is still watching families and children drown in their attempts to reach safety. This year, about 121,517 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea while 2,410 died crossing the Mediterranean, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Worldwide, about 23,000 migrant fatalities have been recorded since 2014. Of those,14,500 were in the Mediterranean. It is considered to be the deadliest migration route. Overall, 60,000 deaths on migration routes have been recorded in the past 20 years, the IOM said. That figure does not include the many unreported deaths and disappearances. In many regions of the world, migrants’ bodies are never found and many more may never be identified.

The outcry over Aylan’s death has done little to improve the situation of children. In many refugee-hosting countries, children are being forced into early marriages and into trading their childhoods for jobs to pay for basic living expenses.

“Seven years of conflict leads to a lot of families being pushed around, moving from one area to another. Most children are forced into child marriages and young boys are now joining the army,” said Sonia Khush, director for Save the Children in Syria.

Although the ceasefires in Syria have reduced the bombings, the education and mental well-being of children remain a great concern, she said.

“Some children grow up without education. This is a great concern, for what does this mean for the future of the next Syrian generation? A lot of families are displaced within Syria, or constantly moving. This means their children cannot get access to an education or even go to school. Most of the schools in Syria have been either bombed or used by armed groups.”

Children escaping Raqqa in Syria have been tormented by years of living under ISIL’s rule, culminating in a ferocious bombing campaign on the city. Save the Children said it could take decades for young people to overcome the psychological wounds.

“Raqqa’s children might look normal on the outside but inside many are tormented by what they have seen,” Ms Khush said.

Along with poor living conditions and displacement, the collapse of health care has taken a heavy toll on children.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said children have died of easy-to-treat diseases because they were not vaccinated.

MSF is the sole provider of routine immunisations in parts of north Syria. In the Raqqa governorate, teams are vaccinating about 100 children a day.

In the MSF burns unit in Atmeh, in Idlib province, more than 150 children under the age of 15 had surgery between January and July, which represents more than a third of the operations perfomed in that period. The majority of the burn cases are a result of poor housing and bad quality of fuel used for cooking or heating – and also violence.

The flight from ISIL-controlled Raqqa in Syria had a terrible effect on Mohammed Aoun’s five children.

Mr Aoun (his name has been changed for security reasons) and his family fled Raqqa three months ago after the house opposite theirs was bombed. He told Save the Children: “There is nothing called ‘children’ any more. We are all in a living hell now. Children have forgotten about their childhood.”

Children who wanted to go to school were taught only how to fight and the basics of Islam. There was no actual education, he said.

“When we used to walk in the market, there used to be people who had been beheaded and their bodies would be hanging without their heads.

“Imagine a child seeing a body that is hung without its

About 121,517 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year while 2,410 died crossing the Mediterranean

head, what would his reaction be?”

Mr Anoun’s daughter Raashida, 13, said living under ISIL had made children aggressive.

“They have not seen much of life except for war and depression. If a child wants to play a game, there is none. It is as if they are not children. They see ISIL beheading people right next to them, they would present the bodies without a head in front of the children.

“Children started to dream about this and would not be able to sleep. They have not had a childhood at all, just airplanes coming and airplanes going. It affected them in all ways, their lives have passed them by, they have not experienced childhood, they did not see toys, parks, they only sit at home terrified of ISIL.”

Jasmine, 8, and her elder sister Dalal are from Hama. They left Syria three years ago and now live in a refugee host community in Jordan.

Their father, Hnadi, tries to make life better for them each day. “I just want to give them everything they want. They should be children and enjoy their childhood,” he said.

The UN has called for a pause in the fighting in Syria to allow the remaining civilians to leave. But even with safe routes, Save the Children said leaving the conflict was only the first step on the long road back to mental well-being.

“It is crucial that the children who have made it out alive are provided with psychological support to help them deal with the trauma of witnessing senseless violence and brutality,” Ms Khush said. “Unless their mental health needs are addressed, we risk condemning a generation of children to a lifetime of suffering.”