Father of drowned Syrian child makes Christmas plea for refugees

The father of a three-year-old boy whose body washed up on a Turkish shore — highlighting the plight of thousands of immigrants from Syria — recorded a Christmas message pleading for countries to open their doors to refugees from his country.

Abdullah Kurdi, the Kurdish father of three-year-old Alan, called on the world to “open its doors to Syrians.”

{mosads}“We Syrians leave our country because of war,” states Kurdi, who was a barber in Syria. “We are all afraid for our children, for our honor.”

He said his family left with the goal of reaching Greece, and then going to a Western European country.

“If a person shuts a door in someone’s face, this is very difficult,” he said in the Christmas message posted on the British television network Channel 4. “When a door is opened, they no longer feel humiliated.”

The image of Alan Kurdi’s lifeless body was shown around the world in September, prompting the United States and other countries to pledge that they would invite those fleeing Syria to seek refuge within their borders.

The video recorded by Kurdi states that more than 3,500 people have drowned seeking to escape Syria.

The White House has committed to allowing 10,000 refugees from Syria to enter the United States.

Since the Nov. 13 terrorist attack in Paris, however, public opinion has shifted against allowing refugees to enter the United States.

The House has approved legislation to impose additional requirements on refugees from Syria to enter the country. Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has said that all Muslims should be temporarily banned from entering the country for security reasons.

Abdullah Kurdi lost his wife and five-year-old son as they fled Syria in addition to Alan Kurdi.