BC aunt of Syrian boys details brother’s last moments with his children

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – The aunt of the little Syrian boy seen face down in the surf in Turkey is speaking out.

Tima Kurdi, who lives in Coquitlam, BC, tearfully spoke to the media this morning, blaming the Canadian government for his death and those of his brother and mother.

Kurdi detailed the moment her brother had to let his children go.

“When the boat flipped upside down and the waves kept pushing him down, those two boys were in his arms. He said he tried with all his power to put them above the water to breathe and screamed, ‘Please don’t die.’

“And then he looked in his left arm, the older boy, Ghalib, was already dead. So he let him go. And he tried to save the second one, Alan. He looked at him; there was blood coming from his eyes. So he closed his eyes and he let him go. He looked around for his wife. She was floating in in the water like a balloon.”

“He said, ‘I did all in my power to save them. I couldn’t,'” she added.

Audio of Tima Kurdi speaking to reporters outside her home in Coquitlam:

Editor’s note: At approximately 10:45, a two-second pause signifies a few minutes’ break in audio

Kurdi had sent money to her brother and his family to help pay smugglers to get them to Greece. She had hoped to bring them to Canada — escape the war in Syria — but already had an application to sponsor another family member denied.

She says she’s spoken to her brother, who is devastated, but wants the deaths to be a wake-up call for the world about the plight of Syrian refugees.

“Don’t let them take that journey anymore. I don’t want people to die anymore. It has to be my kids so the world will wake up,” Kurdi tells reporters her brother has said.

Kurdi says her brother now plans to return to their home to in Syria to bury his family and be beside them.

(With files from the Canadian Press and 660 NEWS staff)

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