Group of people reenact drowned Syrian toddler image: Tribute or gimmick?

Moroccan artists recreate the scene of drowned toddler Aylan Kurdi

30 Moroccans on the beach of Rabat attempted to pay tribute for the death of Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian refugee, and received a fair amount of both positive and negative comments.

MUNTINLUPA CITY, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - The whole world was shocked by the image of a toddler laying lifeless and face-down on the beach of the Rabat earlier this week.

The young boy was identified as 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi who drowned, along with his mother and 5-year-old brother, after their boat capsized in their attempt to flee Syria.

The image was reenacted by a group of 30 people in Morocco, which received mixed reactions from viewers around the world.

The people who paid tribute wore red T-shirts and jeans -the same outfit Aylan was wearing when his body was discovered. They remained in position for about 20 minutes in what they believe was an artistic way to pay tribute, not only to little Kurdi, but to the thousands who have also lost their lives attempting to flee Syria.

One of the organizers of the event, actress Latifa Ahrar, said, "As an artist, my duty is to react and to come here with my colleagues to say that a small gesture can be worth a lot."

Rachel el-Belghiti, a journalist, also commented, "We are here to say that the Mediterranean should remain a space for sharing and exchanges, not a barrier for those who are victims of dictatorships, civil wars and terrorism."

What supporters believe is an artistic tribute has been criticized as a stunt used to gather attention from the web.

One comment from an anonymous user was "Come on how can this be a tribute ?? ...pathetic... they just want to appear on TV/newspapers/internet They could have pray for the little soul but instead they dressed up  for a photoshoot..."

JackIndia wrote "More trivial than tribute" and several other comments across the internet are in agreement.

Regardless of whether the tribute was well-received or not, one thing is clear: Aylan Kurdi's death was not in vain. People around the world have become more active and more aware of the migrant crisis and the measures the refugees are willing to take just to escape the horrific conditions of war and unrest from their neighboring countries. 
Aylan's father, Abdullah, is back in Kobane to accompany the bodies of his family. The city is one of the several in Syria regularly attacked by ISIS.
Aylan died together with his brother Galip and mother Rehan when their family tried to reach the Greek Island of Kos by boat. Aylan's body was located on a beach in Bodrum, face-down and appeared like he was only sleeping. 
Several artistic tributes -both printed and on the web- have been created in memory of the tragic death of the child.
So far there have been 2,600 people who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea this year.

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