Syria's crisis is so severe, refugees are getting into Europe through the Arctic
Dressed in a red t-shirt and denim jeans, this 3-year old Syrian toddler had set off with 12 refugees to seek asylum in the Greek island of Kos. On Wednesday, his corpse was found, lying down in on a Turkish beach. As soon as Dogan News Agency released the heart-breaking image of this young Syrian boy’s dead body, it seemed as if there was no going back.
The internet was flooded with people’s grief. Ayesha Almazroui, a Twitter user posted on Thursday morning “The Syrian child drowned, while the world is drowning in shame. Whose soul really lives?”
Europe has in the past few years seen a huge number of Syrian refugees trying to enter the continent by putting their lives on risk. Conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Ukraine have driven almost 60 million people to seek asylum in other countries but among them, Syrians are the most displaced. A few days ago, The Guardian reported that Syrians have tried the shores of Libya, the islands of Greece, the plains of Balkans and now they are using the Arctic Circle to enter Europe. Up to 20 Syrians a month are crossing into the tiny Norwegian town of Kirkenes which lies around 2,500 miles north of Damascus, and the average daily temperature around the town goes below freezing point. And because of harsh weather conditions, many die during the migration.
Today’s Zaman newspaper has reported the confirmation of 6 deaths including 5 children and one woman, who were trying to enter Greek islands through a boat. The report also claims that seven others were rescued and two were brought to shore safely. The toddler in the video is reported to be one among six people from the Syrian city of Kobani.
According to a report by UNHCR, more than 300,000 refugees have tried using the Mediterranean sea-route to reach Europe. 200,000 of them have successfully landed in Greece and 110,000 in Italy. But, not everybody is as lucky as the other 310,000 refugees who have made it to the shore alive. The young Syrian toddler is one of them. Death of this young boy hasn’t just sparked outrage on internet; even Turkish officials have stepped ahead in criticizing the Europian Union for not dealing with this crisis effectively.