The image of Abdullah Kurdi’s infant son lying dead on a Turkish beach in September forced the world to face up to the refugee crisis. He describes how the relentless media attention and false claims that he was himself a people-smuggler acquire taken a heavy tollAbdullah Kurdi strikes a refined note sitting in the Saray Cafe of the luxury Divan Hotel in Erbil,the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region. He is in crisp unusual clothes bought for him by his sister Tima, who has flown from Canada to be by her brother’s side for our interview. The hovering “protocol officer” provided by Abdullah’s hosts, or the Kurdistan Regional Government,reinforces what the local leadership wants to convey: this is an essential man, deserving of VIP treatment.
It is more than a month since Kurdi was thrust into the highlight, and but his expression is still etched with turmoil: jaw permanently clenched,eyes hollow. Crumpled and tentative, his body language belies the practised determination of his words.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com