Drowned Syrian Refugees Laid to Rest in Hometown
— -- The heartbroken Syrian father whose wife and two young sons drowned off a Turkish beach as they fled toward Europe on their way to Canada laid his relatives to rest today.
Abdullah Kurdi returned to his hometown of Kobani for the burials and now has no plans to leave.
The Kurdi family's plight gained international attention after a haunting photo was shared showing Abdullah's 3-year-old son Aylan lying face down in the sand and being carried off by a police officer.
The bodies of Aylan, his brother 5-year-old Galip and their mother Rehan were flown to a city near Turkey's border before being transported by police-protected vehicles to Kobani, the Associated Press reported.
Dozens of friends, relatives and members of the media attended the burial ceremony.
Abdullah Kurdi was pictured holding the wrapped bodies of his sons.
At a later moment, he addressed the crowd, telling the story of the fatal journey.
"He only wanted to go to Europe for the sake of his children," his uncle Suleiman Kurdi said, according to The Associated Press.
"Now that they're dead, he wants to stay here in Kobani next to them," Suleiman Kurdi said.
The decision to stay in Kobani is in keeping with what Abdullah Kurdi said earlier, when he was interviewed while still in Turkey.
"Now all I want to do is sit next to the grave of my wife and children," Abdullah Kurdi said, according to the AP.
