Meeting the Pope "the best birthday present ever," says the father of the drowned refugee children

Abdullah Kurdi, the father of the young refugee who died five years ago awakened the world to the reality of the migration crisis, called his recent meeting with Pope Francis the best birthday present he has ever received.

Kurdi met with Pope Francis on March 7 after the pope celebrated mass in Erbil on the last full day of his historic visit to Iraq from March 5 to 8.

Speaking with Crux, Kurdi said that when he received a call just two weeks ago from Kurdish security forces telling him that the pope wanted to meet him while he was in Erbil, "I couldn't believe it."

"I still didn't believe it until this actually happened," he said, adding, "It was like a dream come true and it was my best birthday present ever," as the meeting happened a day earlier. Kurdi's birthday on 8 March.

Kurdi and his family made global headlines in 2015 when their boat capsized as it crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece in an attempt to reach Europe.

Originally from Syria, Kurdi, his wife Rehanna and his sons Ghalib, 4, and Alan, 2, had fled due to the ongoing civil war in the country and were living as refugees in Turkey.

After several failed attempts to sponsor the family by Abdullah Tima's sister, who lives in Canada, failed, Abdullah in 2015, when the migration crisis was at its peak, decided to bring his family to Europe after Germany committed. to welcome one million refugees.

In September of the same year, Abdullah with Tima's help secured four seats for himself and his family on a boat traveling from Bodrum, Turkey to the Greek island of Kos. However, shortly after setting sail, the boat - which could only accommodate eight people but carried 16 - capsized and, as Abdullah managed to escape, his family met a different fate.

The next morning, the image of her son Alan's lifeless body, taken to the shores of Turkey, exploded on international media and social platforms after being captured by Turkish photographer Nilüfer Demir.

Little Alan Kurdi has since become a global icon symbolizing the risks refugees often face in their quest for a better life. In October 2017, two years after the incident, Pope Francis - a vocal advocate for migrants and refugees - donated a sculpture of Alan to the Rome office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

After the accident, Kurdi was offered a house in Erbil, where he has lived ever since.

Kurdi, who has long dreamed of meeting the pope to thank him for his advocacy for migrants and refugees and to honor his deceased son, said he could barely speak for the week leading up to the emotional meeting, which he called it a "miracle". , “Whose meaning” I don't know how to put it in words “.

"The moment I saw the pope, I kissed his hand and told him it was an honor to meet him and thank you for your kindness and compassion towards the tragedy of my family and towards all the refugees," said Kurdi, underlining that there were other people waiting to greet the pope after his mass in Erbil, but he was given more time with the pope.

"When I kissed the pope's hands, the pope was praying and raised his hands to heaven and told me my family is in heaven and rest in peace," said Kurdi, recalling how at that moment his eyes began. to fill with tears.

"I wanted to cry," Kurdi said, "but I said, 'hold back', because I didn't want (the pope) to feel sad."

Kurdi then gave the pope a painting of his son Alan on the beach "so the pope can remind people of that image to help people who are suffering, so they don't forget," he said.

The painting was made by a local artist in Erbil whom Kurdi knew. According to Kurdi, as soon as he found out he was going to meet the pope, he called the artist and asked him to paint the picture "as another reminder to the people so that they can help the suffering refugees," especially children.

"In 2015, my son's image was the wake-up call to the world, and it touched the hearts of millions and inspired them to help refugees," Kurdi said, noting that nearly six years later, the crisis is not over, and millions of people still live as refugees, often in unimaginable conditions.

"I hope this image is a reminder again so that people can help (alleviate) human suffering," he said.

After his family died, Kurdi and his sister Tima launched the Alan Kurdi Foundation, an NGO that specifically supports refugee children by providing them with food, clothing and school supplies. Although the foundation remained inactive during the coronavirus pandemic, they hope to resume operations soon.

Kurdi himself has remarried and has another son, who he also named Alan, who will be one year old in April.

Kurdi said he made the decision to name his last son Alan because in Middle Eastern culture, once a man becomes a father, he is no longer referred to by his name but is referred to as "Abu" or "the father of" them. first child.

Since the tragic incident of 2015, people have started referring to Kurdi as “Abu Alan”, so when his new son was born, he decided to name the boy after his older brother.

For Kurdi, the opportunity to meet Pope Francis has not only had monumental personal significance, but he hopes it will be a reminder to the world that while the migration crisis is no longer newsworthy as it once was, "human suffering continues".