The father of three-year old Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach became a symbol of the global refugee crisis, has asked the world to open its doors to Syrians fleeing conflict, AFP reports.
The toddler died after his family, sheltering in Turkey from the war in Syria, decided to make a desperate bid to reach Greece from Turkey in a flimsy inflatable boat.
Shocking news images of the toddler face down on the shore helped spur European nations to seek an effective response to the growing migrant crisis.
"My message is I'd like the whole world to open its doors to Syrians. If a person shuts a door in someone's face, this is very difficult," Abdullah Kurdi says in a video message to be broadcast on Christmas Day. "When a door is opened they no longer feel humiliated," he says according to a transcript released by Britain's Channel 4.