Week Six - Syria refugees, Death of Alan Kurdi (歐洲難民潮-敘利亞男孩死亡事件)

Alan Kurdi (Kurdish: Alan Kurdî‎), initially reported as Aylan Kurdi, was a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish ethnic background  whose image made global headlines after he drowned on 2 September 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea, as part of the Syrian refugee crisis. Photographs of his body were taken by Turkish journalist Nilüfer Demir and quickly spread around the world, prompting international responses. Because Kurdî's family had reportedly been trying to reach Canada, his death and the wider refugee crisis immediately became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election.

In the early hours of 2 September 2015, Kurdi and his family boarded a small plastic or rubber inflatable boat, which capsized about five minutes after leaving a beach at Bodrum in Turkey. Sixteen people were in the boat, which was designed for a maximum of eight people. They were trying to reach the Greek island of Kos, about 30 minutes (or 2.5 miles) from Bodrum. Kurdi's father said: "We had no life vests", but also said they were wearing life jackets, but they "were all fake". Others have stated that they believed that they were wearing lifejackets but the items were ineffective.

It was later stated on Syrian radio that the Kurdi family paid $5,860 for their four spaces on the boat, which had twelve passengers on it despite being only about five meters long. Alan Kurdi's mother joined in the trip even though she had a fear of being on the open sea. Tima Kurdi, Alan Kurdi's aunt, advised her sister not to go. The individuals on the boat evaded the Turkish coast guard by setting out from an isolated beach, going out late at night.

Around 5 a.m. authorities started an investigation, after an emergency call that a boat had capsized and bodies were coming ashore. The bodies of Kurdi and another child were discovered by two locals at around 6:30 a.m. on the same morning. The two men moved the bodies from the water onto the dry part of the beach. Later, Kurdi was photographed face-down on the water's edge by a Turkish press photographer.
On 3 September 2015, Kurdi along with brother Galib and mother Rehana were taken to Kobanî for burials, which took place the next day. It is Islamic tradition to bury the dead within 24 hours if possible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Alan_Kurdi

Structure of the Lead：
      WHO- Alan Kurdi (a three-year-old Syrian boy)
      WHEN- on 2nd September, 2015.
      WHAT- Syrian refugee crisis
      WHY- Kurdî's family had reportedly been trying to reach Canada.
      WHERE- A beach at Bodrum in Turkey.
      HOW- He drowned after he and his family boarded a small plastic or rubber inflatable boat, which capsized about five minutes after leaving a beach at Bodrum in Turkey..

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Keywords:
(1) ethnic 民族；族裔；人種
(2) journalist 記者
(3) federal 聯邦
(4) inflatable 充氣式的
(5) capsize 覆沒；翻船
(6) maximum 最大值
(7) individual 個人的
(8) evade 逃避；躲避
(9) ashore 岸上
(10) burial 葬禮