Father of drowned Syrian boy Alan Kurdi makes emotional plea on anniversary of son’s death

Today marks the first anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi.

He and his family were Syrian refugees who were trying to reach Europe when he sadly died. Alan's brother Galib and his mother Rihan also drowned when their boat sank on the way to the Greek island of Kos. An image of 3-year-old Alan lying face-down lifeless on the shore was captured by a journalist and quickly circulated around the world. Speaking to BBC, Alan's father Abdullah said that while they are always on his mind, the anniversary of their deaths is particularly hard. "Every day I think of them but today I felt as though they had come to me and slept with me. This makes me sad again," he said. While people took to social media to share the image at the time, and express their outrage, Abdullah says that his family was quickly forgotten about.

"At first the world was anxious to help the refugees. But this did not even last a month. In fact, the situation got worse. The war has escalated and more people are leaving. "I hope that all the leaders of the world can try and do good and stop the wars, so that the people can go back to normal life."

The story of Alan Kurdi is not a rare one; as Artist Ai Weiwei explains below, two young children, just like Alan, drown every day while traveling to seek a better life. https://twitter.com/Refugees/status/771603863610626048