“The deaths continue and nobody does anything. Yet after the loss of my family at sea the politicians had said: never again!” Bitter and denouncing words are those of Abdullah Kurdi, the father of little Aylan , the Syrian refugee of only three years found dead on Bodrum beach, on the Aegean coast of Turkey. 12 months have passed since the shooting of the Turkish journalist Nilufer Demir aroused outrage and emotion all over the world, calling the international community to a sense of responsibility in the face of the tragedy of Syrian refugees. A year later, Abdullah Kurdi, in an interview with the German newspaper Bild , condemns the inertia of governments. Unfortunately there are still many fathers of the little Aylans who continue to see their children die in silence and in world indifference.

Testifying to the plight of the refugees are the stories of Abdelaziz, Mamdouh, Yassir who with their families have fled from two wars, from Syria and Libya, and have embarked on the Balkan route with the hope of a new life on the European continent. The fate of these three men was linked to the same dream of a second chance, paid 600 euros per person to a trafficker known in Tripoli. But at the beginning of August the dream turned into a nightmare: Abdelaziz lost a daughter and his wife in the shipwreck off the Libyan coast, Mamdouh his wife and Yassir the whole family.

To echo the words of Abdullah Kurdi and the painful testimonies of the many Syrian and Libyan refugees, who try to reach Europe every day, there are the main humanitarian assistance associations.
“From the beginning of 2016, along the migratory routes around the world, one person dies every 80 minutes,” stresses the Oxfam, asking world leaders to protect all people on the run and to ensure safer access to the continent. Also according to the Oxfam, the Mediterranean is confirmed as the most difficult route with 4,181 people dead from the discovery of the body of Aylan, 12.6% more than the previous year.

Even Salil Shetty, general secretary of Amnesty International, shows all her concern declaring that “if rich countries do not take on more responsibility, they will condemn thousands of children to risk their lives on very dangerous journeys”. The international organization for the defense of human rights gives a sense of drama through numbers: 3,171 deaths recorded in 2016 according to the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration, and at least 700, for Caritas / Migrantes, the dead children during the journeys of hope in 2015 alone.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees speaks of 11 deaths a day. And looking beyond the tragedies that are consumed daily at sea, “urges governments and their national partners to commit to the development and implementation of comprehensive national integration plans. The many contributions refugees make to their new society must be recognized “. UNHCR also calls for “a clear commitment to preventing discrimination, promoting inclusion and the fight against racism and xenophobia” and stated that although the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece has decreased considerably, following of the implementation of the agreement between the European Union and Turkey, arrivals in Italy remained substantially stable with around 115,000.

In short, a year later, little seems to have changed. Many children continue to die in silence and many others live a life that, as shown by the shots released on social networks by activists of Aleppo Media Center , has little to do with the carefree nature that should distinguish their age. 

Shortly, on 19 and 20 September in New York, the main world leaders will discuss the global migration crisis in two important meetings: The United Nations Summit for refugees and migrants, and the Leaders’ Summit on refugees convened by the President of the States United Barack Obama. But the same Amnesty representative said he was skeptical about the UN summit that could “end with hypocritical statements, while many children will continue to suffer”. Yet these two meetings could be a unique opportunity to engage in the protection of human life.