Abdullah Kurdi, the father of 3-year-old Aylan whose death has fuelled outrage over the on-going refugee crisis, has welcomed the “world’s attention” so further tragedy can be prevented.
Mr Kurdi was pictured breaking down in tears as he left a morgue in the Turkish city of Mugla on Thursday, where he had identified the remains of his wife and the mother of his children, Rehan, 35, and his sons Alyan and 5-year-old Galip.
The three family members were among 12 people, including other children, who died after two boats capsized as they headed towards the Greek island of Kos.
Mr Kurdi told reporters gathered outside the facility: “The things that happened to us here, in the country where we took refuge to escape war in our homeland, we want the whole world to see this.”
"We want the world’s attention on us, so that they can prevent the same from happening to others. Let this be the last," he said.
"My kids were the most beautiful children in the world, wonderful. They wake me up every morning to play with them. They are all gone now," he told AP reporters.
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The family, who were fleeing Isis fighters in Kobani, decided to make what would become a fatal journey to Greece after their privately-sponsored application for refugee status was rejected by the Canadian authorities in June.
Teema Kurdi, Mr Kurdi’s sister and a Vancouver resident, told Canada's National Post newspaper that the application was not accepted due to complications in Turkey, where the family were staying.
“We couldn’t get them out [of Turkey] and that is why they went in the boat,” she said.
In the wake of the verdict, the parents turned to smugglers to take them to Greece.
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Mr Kurdi told police in a statement obtained by the Hurryiet newspaper that he had twice paid smugglers to transport his family to Greece. After the attempts failed, they decided to attempt to row across themselves across. When people started to panic and stand up when the craft took water, it capsized.
“I was holding my wife's hand. My children slipped away from my hands. We tried to hold on to the boat,” he said in the statement.
“Everyone was screaming in pitch darkness. I couldn't make my voice heard to my wife and kids.”
After an image showing Aylan’s body lying lifeless on a beach caused international outrage, the Canadian government has offered Mr Kurdi citizenship so he can join his sister in the country.
He told reporters on Thursday that he had declined Canadian citizenship, but did not give further details.
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If the boat has not capsized, Mr Kurdi and his family would have been among the almost 160,000 refugees to arrive Greece by boat since the start of 2014. In July alone, more than 50,000 Syrians - fleeing the bloody civil war which has gripped their country since 2011 and killed over 140,000 people - have arrived in Greece in search of safety.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan responded to the deaths in his country's waters by saying: "European countries, which have turned the Mediterranean, the cradle of the world's oldest civilizations, into a cemetery for refugees, shares the sin for every refugee who loses their life."
Meanwhile, the UK government is facing increasing pressure to act on the refugee crisis, after the photograph of Aylan's lifeless body appeared on the frontpages of the majority of British newspapers.
Charities and opposition politicians are calling for change, and making their voices heard.
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Additional reporting by Reuters
