National

Tima Kurdi Says Sentencing Of Syrian Smugglers Irrelevant, Won't Stop Conflict

The Canadian Press, 04 Mar, 2016 12:01 PM

PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. — Tima Kurdi takes little comfort from news that the human smugglers convicted in the death of her family were sentenced today in Turkey to terms in prison.

Kurdi says the problem plaguing Syrian migrants is far greater than two people and that political action at the global level is the only thing that will stop the war in Syria, which has displaced millions.

A photo of Kurdi's three-year-old nephew, Alan Kurdi, lying dead on a Turkish beach put a human face to the suffering in the region and shone a spotlight on the crisis in the Middle East.

The two men sentenced today in a Turkish court were convicted of human trafficking but found not guilty of causing the drowning deaths through negligence.

They both blamed Alan's father, Abdullah Kurdi, for allegedly organizing the trip, an accusation his sister vehemently denies.

Alan's brother and mother were among the five people who died in last year's ill-fated Mediterranean crossing.

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