Alan Kurdi's aunt, uncle and five cousins will soon arrive in Canada, his Syrian-Canadian aunt says.
Tima Kurdi says her brother, Mohammed, and his family have moved quickly through the refugee selection process, and she is now "waiting for the phone call" to find out when they will land in Canada. She added that she is not sure whether Mohammed's application was fast-tracked, but Canada seems to be "going very fast with everybody in general" in order to meet its pledge to settle 25,000 refugees by the end of the year.
"Seven people, they are coming to live in my house," she told CTV News Channel on Friday.
Tima and Mohammed are the siblings of Abdullah Kurdi, the man who lost his two sons and wife crossing the Aegean Sea earlier this year. One of Abdullah's sons, three-year-old Alan, was photographed dead on a beach in Greece – an image that shocked many around the world into recognizing the plight of Syrian refugees displaced by civil war.
Abdullah Kurdi undertook that fatal voyage on the Aegean after the Canadian government rejected a refugee application from Tima, on behalf of Mohammed. Tima says the plan was for her to sponsor Mohammed's family, and for her sister-in-law to sponsor Abdullah's, once Mohammed was accepted.
However, Mohammed's application was incomplete, and so it was denied. "I knew that it was impossible because the requirements were impossible to get, but I went with the application anyway," Tima said.
With his wife and sons now dead, Abdullah has told Tima he no longer wants to move to Canada, because his life "doesn't mean anything" to him without his family.
"I have to respect that and give him time," Tima Kurdi said. "When he's ready, I will apply for him, and I'm not going to leave him alone."
In terms of Alan's death, Tima Kurdi says the image of him was "heartbreaking" to see, but it has also done a lot of good for her people. "It's saved thousands of refugees in general, so it's beautiful to see that," she said.
