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A dead baby becomes the most tragic symbol yet of the Mediterranean refugee crisis

 
A paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of a  migrant child after a number of migrants died and a smaller number  were reported missing after boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized, near the Turkish resort of Bodrum early Wednesday. [Associated Press | DHA]
A paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of a migrant child after a number of migrants died and a smaller number were reported missing after boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized, near the Turkish resort of Bodrum early Wednesday. [Associated Press | DHA]
Published Sept. 2, 2015

Twelve migrants thought to be Syrian refugees were feared to have drowned off the coast of the Greek island of Kos on Wednesday after the boats carrying them sank. A number of bodies washed ashore on a beach in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum, probably connected to the disaster.

The images of the dead soon circulated on Turkish social media. They included photographs of children.

The images show tiny toddlers lying lifeless on the sand. In others, we see a police officer picking up the corpse of a baby. The most heart-breaking one is a close-up of a drowned infant, his body so still and doll-like that he could be sleeping. You can see it on social media, where it has become a tragic meme.

The scale of the Syrian refugee crisis is hard to grasp: About 11 million people (half of Syria's population) have either died or fled their homes since the Syrian conflict began in 2011. About 4 million of that number have been forced out of the country.

This summer alone, tens of thousands of desperate Syrian refugees made the dangerous eastern Mediterranean passage, motoring on boats from Turkey to nearby islands in Greece — the first beachhead of the European Union — and, from there, embarking on a sometimes-perilous land journey toward Western Europe.

The dramatic influx of refugees this year has led to hand-wringing in European capitals, heated protests from some on the right of the political spectrum, and a great outpouring of support on social media.

But as the Washington Post's Liz Sly enumerated in a recent story, despite the attention, the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations report massive funding shortfalls as they work to help millions of displaced Syrians.

The chaos in Syria, and the failing international systems in place to provide for its refugees, all loom over this heart-rending scene on a beach in Turkey.