Europe, and the sanctuary it can offer those fleeing Syria’s civil
war, was the goal of Aylan’s family. After travelling several hundred
miles through Turkey, eventually the time came for Aylan to cross the
two short miles on the Aegean Sea to the Greek island of Kos. Thousands
of others have made similar crossings – it is considered less fraught
with danger than other refugee routes.
Wearing a bright red
T-shirt and shorts, Aylan took to the sea with his family. At least 20
left the beach on Wednesday in two boats from Akyarlar on the Bodrum
peninsula.
Soon, the vessels capsized and at least 12 drowned, including five
children. Aylan, his brother Galip, five, and his mother, Rihan, 35,
never reached Europe. They were all found on the beach in Bodrum, waves
lapping against their heads. Aylan was face down in the sea. His body
was eventually picked up by an ashen-faced Turkish police officer, his
limp limbs cradled gently.
Further along the beach, the meagre
belongings of the Syrian refugees washed up in the surf. Three other
children drowned, seven were rescued and two reached the shore in life
jackets. At the morgue in Bodrum’s state hospital, the boys’ surviving
relatives broke down in tears after identifying the bodies, reported the
Turkish news agency Dogan.
The second vessel to leave Bodrum was carrying six people and capsized
soon after setting off, the Turkish coastguard said. One woman and three
children drowned. It is thought Aylan was on the second boat. There
were claims last night that hiring a dingy from Bodrum to travel to Kos
can cost up to €1,000 (£735). Local restaurants are said to feed the
refugees before they travel.
Thousands are making the journey from Turkey to Greece’s easternmost
islands each day. The majority are Syrians fleeing the war in their
homeland. Others are from Afghanistan or Iraq. So far this year, the
number of them crossing the Mediterranean has exceeded 300,000, with
200,000 landing in Greece, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said.

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