The photograph of the three years old Aylan Kurdi, rinsed in the Turkish shorelines drowned in an effort to reach Europe, was one of the most heartbreaking photojournalistic images of what has been coded within Europe as a ‘refugee crisis’. Within hours, this photograph reached millions of viewers, and its profound impact reportedly reshaped the portrayal of the ‘refugee crisis’ in the media (Comunicar and de Andrés, 2016). It prompted the public to advocate for more compassionate refugee policies (Slovic P., Västfjäll D., Erlandsson A., and Gregory R., 2017), and Syria quickly became a top-searched topic on Google (Comunicar and de Andrés, 2016), demonstrating, not only that emotion in this case led to political action and sparked public discourse, but also, that it attracted interest for the political surrounding Aylan’s cirumstances.

The migrant vessel Aylan embarked on was far from the first to sink in the Mediterranean, nor washe the first child to drown. Instead, it is known that the European borders with Turkey are fortified, leaving the sea as the only passage for migrants. Reports indicate that migrants face violent measures to prevent their entry, including shootings when they approach by land (Amnesty International, 2020). Moreover, those granted the right to asylum often find themselves confined to detention centers for years. Recently, these detention centers have become overcrowded and plagued by COVID-19 infections, resembling quarantine prisons more than places of refuge.