Images of dead toddler shock world

#1121 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 2 September 2015.

The shocking photographs released on Wednesday of a dead Syrian toddler, lying face-down on a beach near the Turkish resort of Bodrum, highlights the human cost of the egregious abuses committed by Islamic State against innocent civilians in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.

The child’s body was found after two boats carrying Syrian refugees capsized. The boats were attempting to journey from Bodrum to the island of Kos in Greece. Survivors say at least 12 people drowned in the attempted crossing.

If Australia is to step up its military commitment in Syria with increased bombing missions, we cannot in good conscience turn a blind eye, and a cold heart, toward the greatest humanitarian disaster in Europe since World War II.

If we are to drop bombs on Syrian targets, we should also at the very least welcome individuals and families displaced by this conflict in which our government has regrettably chosen to engage.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.