''The Boy on the Beach'' is a 2018 memoir by
Tima Kurdi about her family's attempts to escape the
Syrian civil war and the circumstances that lead to the
death of Alan Kurdi.
Production
''The Boy on the Beach'' was published in 2018 by
Simon & Schuster, written by Canadian-Syrian activist
Tima Kurdi. Kurdi has spoken in two media interviews about how she see the book as a call to action for the global community to do more for refugees.
Synopsis
''The Boy on the Beach'' documents the Kurdi family's efforts to escape the Syrian civil war and the circumstances that led to the
deaths of Alan, Ghalib Kurdi, and Rehanna (their mother), in 2015.
The book starts by describing the family's comfortable life in
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
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prior to the Syrian civil war.
As war starts, the family move to
Kobanî
Kobanî (, , also rendered , ar, كُوبَانِي, Kūbānī) (Kurdish: Kobanî/ کۆبانی) officially Ayn al-Arab ( ar, عَيْن الْعَرَب, ʿAyn al-ʿArab ), is a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, lying immediately ...
, before fleeing Syria and attempting to cross the
Mediterranean Sea.
When their boat capsizes, their father, Abdullah Kurdi, survives, but his two children Alan and Ghalib both drown along with his wife Rehanna.
A photograph of Alan caught the attention of the international media and public attention.
Critical reception
The book made the long-list for the
Canada Reads 2019 book competition.
Book reviewer, Sheniz Janmohamed, writing in
Quill & Quire credits the author for humanising the Syria conflict.
See also
*
2015 European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to request ...
References
External links
Publishers official web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy on the Beach
2018 non-fiction books
Works about Syria
Works about wars
Canadian autobiographies
Books about Syria
Simon & Schuster books