Downtown Vancouver memorial service for dead Syrian boy and family this Saturday, September 5

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      A memorial service will be held in Vancouver Saturday, September 5, for a Syrian mother and two young boys who died when their boat capsized off the shore of Turkey.

      The the body of the youngest child, Alan Kurdi, age three, washed ashore on a beach in Turkey on Wednesday (September 2).

      Photographs of the child as he was found on the beach have caught the world’s attention and brought the issue of Middle East refugees to the forefront of Canada’s October election.

      The Ottawa Citizen reported Kurdi was part of a family that was trying to get to Canada with the help of a relative in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam named Tima Kurdi. On September 2, the family was sailing for Greece when their boat sank of the coast of Turkey, leaving only the father to survive.

      According to an invitation for the service, it will take place at SFU Harbour Centre at 515 West Hastings in room 1900. It’s scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and conclude by 4 p.m.

      “Please join us in honouring Tima’s nephews, Alan and Ghalib, and Tima’s sister in law, Rehanna,” the invite reads.

      Update: A second event described as a cross-country mobilization called Refugees Welcome is scheduled to take place on the south side of the Vancouver Art Gallery at 750 Hornby Street on September 6 at 2 p.m.

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