Aylan Kurdi: Palestinians pay tribute to Syrian toddler who was washed ashore

Gaza, Sep 8: Palestinians on Monday built a sand sculpture on a beach in Gaza to pay tribute to Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi who drowned while fleeing the war-hit country. The Palestinians built the sculpture measuring a few metres (yards) in length that was depicting Aylan Kurdi in a same position with blue and red clothing like he was found on one of the Turkey’s beach. Dozens of people also paid tribute to Aylan on a Rabat beach lying in same position like his body was found washed ashore. They were lying for about 20 minutes re-creating the heart-wrenching scene. The picture of Aylan Kurdi’s body in the sand near Bodrum went viral on the internet. The viral picture shook the entire world and created international outraged regarding refugee crisis. The sculpture was built near the place where an Israeli strike killed four Gazan children when they were playing football during last year’s 50-day Gaza war. “When I saw this statue representing Aylan Kurdi, the child drowned while fleeing Syria, I felt a deep sadness and great emotion.” ”It reminded me of the children of the Bakr family who were killed on the Gaza beach during the last war,” said resident Arwa Arbijan to AFP.
Famous Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik also created a sand sculpture of Aylan Kurdi’s body. “#HumanityWashedAshore My Homage to the Syrian boy #AylanKudri through my sand sculpture at Puri beach, in Odisha, India,” he wrote on his Facebook page.