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This Obituary For 3-Year-Old Syrian Who Drowned Will Break Your Heart

by Gillian Fuller

An unidentified person or group posted an obituary in an Australian newspaper this morning for Aylan Kurdi, the 3-year-old Syrian boy found dead on the shores of a Turkish beach earlier this week.

Aylan, along with his brother, mother and father, were reportedly attempting to flee to Canada when the boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. All but the father drowned.

Yesterday, social media flooded with touching tributes to the young boy. But, this may be the most touching of all.

The obituary, posted in The Sydney Morning Herald, included an illustration of a teddy bear and read,

You did not deserve to drown in the coldness of water and in the coldness of human indifference. You were not a Migrant. You were not a Refugee. You were a 3yr old little boy wanting to play safely, away from the threats of violence and war. In Heaven, you will be nursed by those who held you, by those who kissed you and by those who risked everything in the hopes of you reaching the shores of safety. Rest In Peace Aylan Kurdi. May God forgive us for failing you.

Though Aylan and his family have become the faces of Europe's migrant crisis — a crisis that took more than 2,500 lives in the Mediterranean Sea alone — we must remember they are not the only ones.

Just last week, more than 70 refugees were found dead in a truck in Austria after suffocating in the cramped, airtight quarters. In Hungary, hundreds of migrants got caught in a violent clash with police, The World Post reports.

The loss of any life is a tragedy, and there have been far too many tragedies in the midst of the war.

Hopefully, Aylan's death brings something good; hopefully, it will inspire us to act. Because if we don't, this will continue. And we can't let that happen.

Someone Has Placed A Heartbreaking Obituary For The Little Boy Who Drowned On A Turkish Beach http://t.co/gKhzloURra pic.twitter.com/mG3saY4utP — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 4, 2015

Citations: Heartbreaking Tribute For Drowned Syrian Boy Appears In Australian Newspaper (Huffington Post)