That little boy

[cromwell]

I don't think the picture was a set up; I do think his father was an idiot.

The photo is part of a pro-immigration campaign by the media though. It was a tragedy, but there have been other tragedies like the two elderly Sicilians murdered by an Ivorian migrant.

The story of the little boy suits the agenda of the media. Tragic, tugs at the heartstrings, fleeing from a war zone.

The other story? Two old people murdered in their own home by someone from the Ivory Coast. Who is not fleeing from conflict at all. Again tragic, but it doesn't suit the narrative of the media and the left wing politicians, so it is kept well away from the TV news.

The "compassion" of the media and of liberals is a very selective compassion, I've always thought.

[Workingman]

I found the publication of the pictures and videos of the little boy callous and an affront to his memory. They were shown to drive the not so well hidden agendas of politicians and the media.

The truth in all of this is that the boy's death, and those of his siblings and mother, never needed to happen. He was already in a safe country and being looked after.

[Weka]

I can't find the link, but I read earlier today that the story has been "embellished". Dad was not on the boat, and they had been living in Turkey for a few years( 3?) and were just wanting to go to Europe. The sister in Canada had been paying the family's rent in Turkey.

[moondancer]

I don't think the picture was a set up; I do think his father was an idiot.

.

And I totally agree.

[Workingman]

I read an interview given by the Aunt who was beating herself up by what she had done.

She was paying the family's rent in Turkey. That means they had housing and it also means they had access to banking, it also means they had some sort of identity papers. Through those things she was able to send them $4,000 to purchase their places on a trafficker's boat.

That last part interested me so I went online. For less than $4,000 here in the UK I could buy a semi-rigid boat with an outboard sea-worthy enough to get four people across 4km of water in under 30 minutes. What would the same cost in Turkey? No overcrowding, no rickety bucket to sail in, no risk of capsizing and no navigational skills required - the two places are visible from each other.

[victor]

None of the 5 richest Arab countries have offered to take a single immigrant\asylum seeker____so why should Europe??

[Workingman]

Good grief, Vic!

Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE do not want poor Syrians wandering their diamond paved streets and mixing with the world's rich and famous. That would never do. The glitterati have to be kept immune from the dregs; that is unless they are building the monuments to money and football stadia.

[Suff]

I can't find the link, but I read earlier today that the story has been "embellished". Dad was not on the boat, and they had been living in Turkey for a few years( 3?) and were just wanting to go to Europe. The sister in Canada had been paying the family's rent in Turkey.

That would be this article from Pamela Geller.

Also I found this article from the BBC where the Canadian government say they never received an application. Then it transpires an application was made by the brother but it was incomplete.

I also found this article which states that his application to Canada was refused because of his inability to get an exit visa from Turkey. It also states that he was trying to get to Sweden as a stepping stone to Canada.

Now, I don't know about most of the above, but I do know about applications to Sweden for asylum from countries at war. If he had applied to Sweden, he would probably (I'd say almost certainly but that might not be true), have been accepted.

So I can only conclude that he thought that his chances of getting to Canada were better with emotional blackmail than they would be through the correct application channels.

Now my Geography is not super good, but as far as I'm aware, the best way to get from Turkey to Sweden is not via a boat to a Greek island and also, as has been proven by many thousands who have done it, you can walk from Turkey to Europe through the Balkans.

So I'm out of this. It is nothing more or less than emotional blackmail which is being picked up by politicians for political reasons. I decline to become part of that.

[Workingman]

I can only conclude that he thought that his chances of getting to Canada were better with emotional blackmail than they would be through the correct application channels.

Correct. $4,000, sent by the aunt, would have bought air tickets from Turkey to Sweden, with a lot left over. However, once in Sweden the blackmail element to Canada would not have existed and the application would have taken some time - if ever.

Why are these things not being pointed out in the media?

[Weka]

It gets worse
I knew something wasn't adding up in this story

http://i.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/ ... man-claims