Aylan & Prayers for a More Just & Welcoming World
The humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war in Syria would have been easier for Americans to ignore ten or fifteen years ago. But now, with a twenty-four hour news cycle, social media, and the internet literally at our fingertips--this human tragedy is in front of us almost constantly. I have been haunted for weeks by the images of the 3 year-old boy, Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed ashore on the Turkish coast after the overloaded boat carrying his family along with other Syrian refugees capsized, killing Aylan, his mother, brother and nine other people. Aylan's family was trying to get to Greece, and from there they hoped to eventually join his father's sister in Canada. I have read all of the conflicting accounts of what happened, and the convoluted statements from Aylan's father as well. Honestly, none of that matters to me. What matters is the image of that 3 year-old little boy lying face down on a Turkish beach. Several y...