Drown Syrian toddler's family was refused entry application to canada before drowning in the meditteranean

The grieving aunt of the tragic Syrian boys whose drowning triggered a global outcry has revealed the children's' mother had not wanted to make the crossing to Kos and was unable to swim.Tima Kurdi, a sister of Abdullah Kurdi, gave a moving press conference from Vancouver, where she works as a hairdresser and had hoped to be joined by the family after sponsoring them for residency.Ms Kurdi said her brother Abdullah, his wife Rehan and their two boys, 3-year-old Aylan and 5-year-old Galip only embarked on the perilous boat journey only after their bid to move to Canada was rejected.

Speaking at a packed press conference in the city, she said: 'His wife told me on the phone a week ago, I am so scared of the water.'I don't know how to swim, if something happens…I don't want to go.'But I guess they decided they wanted to do it all together.'Those two kids – they didn't see a good life at all', she said, sobbing and clad in black.She has now begged her brother not to return to war torn Kobane in Syria to bury his wife and two children.

The heartbroken aunt says her sibling is glad that pictures of his youngest son’s body - washed up on a beach and being delicately taken by a Turkish Gendarme - are making more people aware of the plight of millions of refugees fleeing from Syria.‘Of course it makes me sad that it’s taken this [tragedy] to make people realise what is going on,’ she said, adding: ‘Abdullah said, its ok if it has to be my kids and my wife who wake up the world, its ok. If it’s been written to happen that way, it was supposed to happen.’Shaking with emotion as she spoke, surrounded and supported by her family - including son, Alan, and daughter Hawer – she also explained how she had given Abdullah and his family the money for their fateful crossing.

I said to Adbullah, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have sent the money.” He said, “Don’t blame yourself, you did it because you told us there’s no way Canada is going to bring us in, its going to be hard.” ’ Canadian immigration authorities rejected the Kurdi's application, in part because of the family's lack of exit visas to ease their passage out of Turkey.