Aylan Kurdi, Galip Kurdi and their mother - Syrian victims of Bashar Al-Assad and of ISIS

In recent days, Abdullah Kurdi, his wife and their sons, Galip, age 5, and Aylan, age 3, set out on a small boat from Turkey trying to get to the Greek island of Kos. 

They were fleeing from the violence in their home town of Kobani, Syria. 

All news reports out of the Middle East contain names, dates and ages that are often inaccurate, garbled and conflicting. 

Aylan Kurdi (L); Galip Kurdi (R)

However, what is true is that on September 2, 2015, the body of Aylan washed ashore on a beach at Bodrum, Turkey.  

Galip and Aylan and their mother had all drowned. 

The body of Aylan Kurdi

When the boat started to sink in the darkness of night, everyone was screaming. Abdullah tried to hold his wife's hand and that of his sons, but they all slipped away. The father, Abdullah, survived and swam to shore.

Nine others drowned including other children.

Aylan's body was photographed on the beach in Bodrum.  It is important to show this photograph even though it is morbid and disturbing. If we don't show photos such as this, then we are white-washing reality and sugar-coating history. 

Changes in this world will not take place if evil is kept under cover. 

This picture depicts the reality for Syrians fleeing from their dictator, Bashar Al-Assad, and their upcoming dictators, the Jihadist and terrorist group, ISIS, who are trying to take over Syria and Iraq. 

Pray for Abdullah Kurdi who has
suffered an unspeakable loss. 

Canadian relatives of the Kurdi family were willing to take on financial responsibility for Abdullah, his wife and sons if the government would let that family of four into Canada. But somehow the whole application process became ineffective due to several errors in the process.  Abdullah and his family were never offered asylum in Canada before this tragedy occurred. 

There are upwards of 3,000,000 Syrians who have fled to neighboring countries due to the ongoing and endless Syrian Civil War. Six and a half million Syrians are displaced from their homes in Syria because Bashar Al-Assad or ISIS have blown their cities and towns into near oblivion. 

Pray for the wife of Abdullah Kurdi. Pray that she is with God. 

Pray for Abdullah Kurdi who has suffered an unspeakable loss. 

Pray for an end to this war in Syria and Iraq. 

Aylan and Galip are innocent and are playing in the fields of Heaven. 

God save us from this insanity. Amen.