Refugees await help four years after Alan Kurdi's death

The pictures, showing him lying face down on the beach, prompted calls for action to help refugees.

The lifeless body of a three-year-old toddler, Alan Kurdi, gave a face to human tragedy amid the Syrian civil war.
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The lifeless body of a three-year-old toddler, Alan Kurdi, gave a face to human tragedy amid the Syrian civil war.

People commemorated fourth anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian refugee when his body was washed ashore Turkey's Mediterranean coast off Bodrum.

The toddler was aboard a boat carrying 14 refugees out of which five died when it sank.

The picture of his lifeless body jolted the world, giving a face to the humanitarian crisis the ongoing civil war in Syria had caused.

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The pictures, showing him lying face down on the beach, prompted calls for action to help refugees. [File photo]

Ugur Ozdogan, a 75-year-old eye witness, told Anadolu Agency, the tragedy had deeply affected him.

"Maybe many children like Alan disappeared but their bodies never washed ashore," he said.

He added that similar incidents will recur if strict measures against human trafficking are not taken.

Filmmaker Omer Sarikaya is currently making a movie on Kurdi to shed light on the fate of refugees.

"Europe left Turkey alone on the issue of migrants, Turkey opened its doors because these people are our neighbours and have no place to go," Sarikaya said.

He said the revenue generated from the movie will be donated to the refugees.

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Eleven other Syrians had died on the same boat along with Alan Kurdi's four-year-old brother Ghalib and their mother Rihan.

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