Abdullah Kurdi, father of drowned Syrian boy refugee, wishes to stay by family's grave in Kobani

Syrian children play near a tent after a heavy snowstorm at Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, January 8, 2015. Syrian refugees in Jordan's main Zaatari refugee camp appealed for help on Thursday after a regional storm buffeted the Middle East with blizzards, rain and strong winds. The temperatures, which usually average 13 Celsius (55.4 Fahrenheit ) this time of the year have plunged to 2 to zero Celsius (35.6-32 Fahrenheit), Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said on Tuesday. Reuters/Muhammad Hamed

The tragic image of 3-year old Alyan Kurdi, whose lifeless body was found on the shores of a Turkish beach, stirred the hearts of the nations, that it reportedly became the symbol of the plight of the Syrian war refugees. However, for the toddler’s father Abdullah, who also lost his wife and another son to the sea, seeing the lifeless body of his loved ones could only mean the end to his as well. Abdullah has expressed his intentions to remain in Turkey to be with his family instead of migrating to Canada to be with his sister.

In an exclusive interview with People, Abdullah’s sister Tima reveals her heartache over the tragedy that happened to her brother’s family. Recalling her conversation with her brother, Tima said her brother has expressed his desire to remain in Kobani, Turkey where his family is buried.

When Tina told her brother that she will still bring him to Vancouver, Abdullah had replied, “'I don't want to come to Canada or anywhere in the world, I was coming only for the kids, I am staying in Kobani.”

“That's okay for now but you are coming here and we are all going to work together in the hair salon I bought,” she had told Abdullah.

Tina, a hairdresser in Vancouver, told the publication that she had bought a hair salon so that she, Abdullah and their other sibling, Mohammed, could all work together in the salon as a family. Despite Abdullah’s intentions to remain in Kobani, Tima insisted she will bring her family together to safety.

“I am going to bring them all here,” she told People.

According to the publication, Tima has also been trying to foster Mohammed’s family in Vancouver. However, her application was rejected by the Canadian government in June. Mohammed had reportedly fled to Germany while his family remains in Turkey.

Abdullah had also spoken about his heartache and loss of will to live during a previous interview with CNN. The grief-stricken father had expressed his wish “to sit beside” the graves of his children until he dies.

"I don't want anything else from this world. Everything I was dreaming of is gone,” he said.

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