Relatives of drowned Syrian boy land in Canada

The father of the three-year-old Syrian boy whose lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey-the powerful photo of which captured the human tragedy of the refugee crisis-will deliver a Christmas message in which he urges the world to have sympathy for those fleeing the ravages of war.

Tima Kurdi said after losing his wife and children, Abdullah Kurdi has devoted his life to helping other refugees.

A photo of the boy’s body face down in the surf sparked global sorrow and momentum to help Syrian refugees.

Mohammed Kurdi, his wife and their five children touched down in Vancouver shortly before noon.

Speaking through his sister, who translated from Arabic, Mohammed Kurdi also thanked Canadians and the government for making his dreams come true.

“The most important part is to thank you, the Canadian people, thank you to our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for opening the door and showing the world how everyone could welcome and save the lives of refugees, thank you so much for giving this”, Tima Kurdi said.

Kurdi says she’s humbled by the outpouring of support her family has received, although she has also had to endure an onslaught of negative comments from online trolls.

“Thank you… we nearly lost hope”, he said. Mohammad – who worked as a barber in Syria – will be working at a hair salon owned by Tima.

She added that she bought mattresses and linens for her brother’s family and turned her husband’s office into a room to accommodate some of the children.

On Friday former British foreign secretary David Miliband, who now heads the International Rescue Committee told The Guardian that the United States should be accepting at least 100,000 refugees a year. The children’s father, Abdullah, who is Mohammad Kurdi’s brother, survived. “I never thought I’d see the day when an organization I led was being taken to court by the governor of Texas for implementing federal law”, Miliband said.

And to Abdullah, whose plight was on the family’s mind during their 10-hour flight to Vancouver, Tima said, in tears: “We wish you were with us, I can not say … but you’re always here”.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada later asked Tima Kurdi to re-apply for her brother and his family in mid-October.

At Lifeline Syria, a Toronto-based grassroots group bringing Syrian families to Canada, staff got so many emails the server crashed, and the number of groups willing to privately sponsor refugee groups skyrocketed.

But the Kurdi family’s fortunes seem to be turning.

Despite the pain it causes every time she’s confronted with her relatives’ deaths, Kurdi says she doesn’t want her nephew’s tragedy to be forgotten.