Aylan Kurdi, and his five-year-old brother Galip drowned when their overcrowded dinghy capsized as they fled war-torn Syria in search of asylum on the Greek island of Kos.
Tragically, their mother Reehan lost her life too, while the boys’ anguished father, Abdullah, survived.
Four million people have fled Syria since the civil war began four years ago, desperate to escape the conflict.
Thousands have lost their lives cramming into lorries or making treacherous sea-crossings.
As families flee Syria, Europe is coming under increasing pressure to support them.
Last year the annual immigration figure for the UK was 300,000 but PM David Cameron is being urged to allow 10,000 refugees in from Syria.
Other countries such as Germany – which has reportedly agreed to let in 800,000 Syrians – are calling on Britain for more support.
At the time of going to press Cameron announced he would allow thousands of Syrians living in refugee camps into the country.
Someone who knows first hand what it’s like to escape a warzone is Ali Abbas.
Aged 12, he lost both arms and suffered 60 per cent burns after a missile struck his home in Baghdad during the Iraq War.
Tragically, he lost 14 members of his family, including his parents.
Ali, now 24, is married and living in London. He moved to the UK shortly after the horrific bombing and understands the plight of Syrian refugees.
He says: “I know how desperate they must feel. Growing up in a warzone was terrifying, I feared for my safety every day.
"People in developed countries don’t understand the reality of living with bombs going off and fighting breaking out everywhere.
"Syrian refugees are doing everything they can to protect their families.
"They would only be coming here as a last resort in search of a better life. Europe should be doing all it can to help until the conflict in Syria is resolved.”
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