Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Dozens of white balloons drifted over Vancouver harbor in British Columbia, Canada, to honor the young Syrian boys whose deaths at sea sparked worldwide outrage about the refugee crisis.
The boys' aunt stood looking at the sky Saturday after she and other mourners let go of the balloons, which had photos attached of 3-year-old Alan and 5-year-old Ghalib.
With tears in her eyes, Tima Kurdi tossed a bouquet of yellow flowers into the water.
Kurdi said she hopes to bring the rest of her family to Canada, which she made home more than two decades ago.
She says her brother isn't ready to leave his Syrian hometown where his sons and wife were buried on Friday. They drowned after piling into an overloaded boat in Turkey headed for the Greek island of Kos. Her brother was among the few survivors.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.