The photo was heartbreaking: A toddler in shorts and a red T-shirt lay face down at the edge of the surf, waves lapping at his head, his body settled into the sand like a piece of driftwood. His name, the world would learn, was Aylan Kurdi, and he and his Kurdish family were heading from Syria to Canada — from war to peace and, they hoped, safety. Instead, 3-year-old Aylan, his 5-year-old brother Galip and their mother all drowned when their smuggler's boat capsized off Bodrum, Turkey.
The image won't end the wars in Syria and Iraq. Most likely, it won't even change European policies toward the migrants and refugees pouring in from the Middle East and Africa.