Volume 88 | Issue 2 | obiter-dicta.ca
The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928
Monday, September 14, 2015
SYRIAN CRISIS
can public opinion change
canada’s refugee laws?
ê A family photo of Alan and Ghalib Kurdi who died trying to reach Greece. Photo credit: OttawaCitizen.com
shannon corregan › staff writer
O
n 2 september 2015, the bodies of brothers Alan (3) and Galib (5) Kurdi washed up
on a beach in southern Turkey. The boys
drowned alongside their mother Rehan
after the boat carrying them and eight other Syrian
refugees capsized on its way from Turkey to Greece.
Photos of Alan Kurdi’s body lying facedown in the
surf are now ubiquitous in the Canadian press, as are
photos of his weeping father, Abdullah (40), the only
member of their family to survive. Alan has become
the face of the human suffering within the Syrian
refugee crisis. Since news broke that the family was
trying to immigrate to Canada, photos of his drowned
body have changed the issue from a European one to a
specifically Canadian one.
Syrian refugees have been fleeing the country since
the civil war began in 2011, but the numbers have dramatically increased in the last two years. According
to UN data, 886,000 asylum claims were filed globally in 2014, a 45% increase from 2013. It marks the
highest level of asylum claims since the beginning of
the Balkan conflicts in 1992. The two largest groups
filing are Syrians, with 150,000 claims, and Iraqis,
with 68,700.
The Kurdi family’s story highlights the problems
facing thousands of Syrian refugees trying to flee
their country. Abdullah’s sister, Tima, immigrated
to Canada over two decades ago, and now lives and
works in Vancouver. Initial reports indicated that
Tima tried to sponsor her brother’s application to
Canada. Despite personal attention from Fin Donnelly,
the MP for Port Moody/Coquitlam, the family says
the application was rejected in June, “owing to the
» see refugee crisis, page 15
In this Issue ...
editorial
“Physical” Access to Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
news
Truth and Reconciliation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
opinion
Career Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
arts & culture
Toronto Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
sports
Toronto Blue Jays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11