Roisin Kelly |
This week the UK government, in the face of mounting discontent, has performed a dramatic U turn in relation to the growing Syrian refugee crisis.
The harrowing images of the lifeless body of three year old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach has shamed the British government into change. It appears that Aylan was trying to escape civil war in Syria and met his death at sea because in his parents’ desperation the perilous journey still seemed a safer alternative.
The question will remain, why did Aylan have to die to make a government realise that its policy lacked compassion and humanity? If it had been an adult’s body washed up on the beach, would it have had the same effect?
According to Amnesty International an estimated 1, 700 refugees have died crossing the Mediterranean in the last 4 months. 1, 700 people and Aylan had to die before a government was forced to acknowledge this humanitarian crisis.
Up to that point the crisis did not have a face; it was a problem happening to “immigrants” and “refugees” in other countries. But then, with those graphic images broadcasting across the world we were confronted with the grim reality of the desperate plight of innocent people. We could no longer be in denial, this crisis had a face; and it was Aylans.
A government represents its people and its people felt shame. We failed these people because we chose not to care; we failed because it wasn’t a British child washing up on a Turkish beach. Is the government doing enough or is it the case of too little too late? It’s too soon to know what Aylans legacy will be.
