Nilufer Demir – Aylan’s Story 2015 – Favorite Photographs 2015 #10

We have reached the end of this year’s favorite photographs, and I find myself keep coming back to the image from this past September of a Turkish police officer cradling the body of drowned migrant child Aylan Kurdi near the Turkish resort of Bodrum by Nilufer Demir / DHA / Reuters. Aylan’s family was trying to cross to Greece when their boat capsized and his mother and two of her children — Aylan and Ghalib — perished. The father, Abdullah, survived at least physically. At the time the news media repeatedly announced that this single photograph represented a game changer in the refugee tragedy unfolding in Europe. Needless-to-say the world has moved on in very bad ways. Still I have to believe that this image will be a lasting monument to the personal tragedies of our times. And if nothing else, it is photojournalism at its very best, challenging us to be better than we are. It is a good thought for the New Year.