Aylan Kurdi: Drowned Syrian refugee boy features in nativity scene in Madrid, Spain

Most people will remember the heartrending image of a young Syrian boy, washed up on a Turkish beach as his family fled from Syria, hoping to reach Europe.

Now three-year-old Aylan Kurdi has been immortalized as a part of a nativity scene created by a Madrid church to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees this Christmas.

It was back in early September this year that the little boy washed ashore and his photograph, lying face-down in the sand, went viral on the social media and online news websites. The image was seen across the world by an estimated 20 million people and the backlash galvanized European governments, including that of Spain, to take action on behalf of the Syrian refugees.

Now the San Anton Church in Madrid's Chueca district, renowned as a forward thinking church where pets are welcome and where the faithful can make their confessions via iPad, has now incorporated the image of the young boy in their nativity scene.

Nuestro #Belén Solidario está abierto 24 horas como nuestra iglesia de San Antón en Hortaleza 63. pic.twitter.com/chxFOd1vcX

— Mensajeros de la Paz (@Padre__Angel) December 14, 2015

Aylan takes the place of the baby Jesus, and his grief-stricken parents take the roles of Mary and Joseph, looking over the child. Instead of a stable, the family are sheltered in a refugee tent with reproductions of drawings by refugee children of their journeys on the walls.

It was Spanish artist Ikella Alonso who designed the nativity scene for the Messengers of Peace Foundation, an NGO working with the refugees and the scene can be visited by anyone up until January 6th. The church, located on Calle Hortaleza is open 24 hours every day.

3 Syrian refugees discovered in refrigerated truck in the Basque region

Three Syrian men were found locked in a refrigerated food truck Tuesday, near the Basque town of Hernani. They were suffering from hypothermia and a lack of oxygen. 

 

The discovery was made at a gas station near the town of Hernani, where a driver pulled up next to the truck and heard banging and shouting coming from the back of the vehicle.

Reportedly the truck had originated in Poland but its last stop was in Belgium, where the truck was reloading fruit produce, bound for MercaMadrid in Spain's capital city.

The three refugees are all in their thirties and believed by Basque police to be Syrian nationals. On taking them out of the truck, the men were immediately hospitalized with hypothermia, but are believed to be doing well and are recovering.

The Basque regional police force have opened an investigation in an effort to determine whether the driver was aware that the Syrian refugees were in the back of his truck, where the temperature was reportedly only around 10 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile Spain has agreed to take on 14,900 Syrian refugees under an EU agreement, where the migrants will be relocated from Greece, Hungary and Italy. The first refugees are due to arrive early in October this year.

This quota was originally rejected by the Spanish government, but after citizens lobbied in protest, it was agreed to take them on. According to The Local, despite the economic crisis in the country, over 100 local councils across Spain have now declared themselves "refugee friendly" with thousands of people signing up to welcome them into their homes.

Source:  The Local / Telecinco

Photo: Basque police car CC BY 2.5 Javierme