“Sun” — A Poem in Memory of Alan Kurdi

Children of Ritsona refugee camp recite a poem in memory of Alan Kurdi on the two-year anniversary of his death

Two years ago, the world stood in sadness as Alan Kurdi’s small body tragically washed ashore in Turkey in September 2015. The devastating images of his death drew global attention to the plight of refugees and moved many to act. Among them were Lighthouse Relief’s original founders, who established the organisation on 28 September 2015 in a small fishing village in Lesvos, where hundreds of people were arriving by sea every single day.

Two years later, the situation for refugees in Europe remains critical. 60,000 people are stranded in Greece and thousands more continue to arrive on the Greek islands on a monthly basis. Many are children whose lives have been completely uprooted by conflict and forced displacement.

In memory of Alan Kurdi, Lighthouse Relief worked with Ahmed Badr, the founder of Narratio — a blog dedicated to youth empowerment — to develop this video in his memory. When Badr was eight years old, his home in Baghdad, Iraq was bombed during the Iraqi War. His family migrated to Syria to seek safety, and then moved to the United States in 2008 as refugees. Today, he seeks to amplify the voices and stories of youth around the world by creating a platform for unedited creative expression.

Badr’s poem speaks to his own experiences as a child affected by war, but also sings true for the thousands of children still stranded in Greece with their families:

“The cities sound impatient for our return.
They speak of lost times, desperate journeys and new worlds.
They tell us that they still have not forgotten.
They tell us the sun is in our hands, and it’s our job to return it.”

Gathered in the “cozy corner” of our Child Friendly Space (CFS) in Ritsona camp, Lighthouse Relief’s CFS Facilitator Clark Conlisk led a group of children in a reading of the poem. Older children clutched the printed poem in their small hands, slowly pronouncing each word and asking for clarifications if there was a word or phrase they didn’t understand. Younger ones turned to Clark to recite the poem first, and eagerly repeated when it was their turn to do so.

We hope you’ll join us in sharing this poem and acknowledging the incredible resilience of refugee children in Ritsona.