ARBIL, Iraq – Pope Francis on his last night in Iraq Sunday met the father of Alan Kurdi, the drowned Syrian Kurdish toddler who became a symbol of the plight of migrants.
The photos of Alan’s tiny body, washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015, shocked the world and brought renewed attention to the deadly sea route many migrants take to reach the West.
After holding his last public event on Sunday, the 84-year-old met Alan’s father Abdullah in Arbil, the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region.
In a photograph published by the Vatican, the Pope is seen raising his hand as if offering a blessing while looking intently at Abdullah, who has his head bowed…
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