A man whose wife and seven children drowned while attempting to cross from Turkey to Greece is warning other Syrian refugees not to risk the journey.
In an interview with the BBC, Ali Alshano struggled to speak through his tears while warning others to avoid the dangerous sea crossing to Europe. More than 3,500 people have drowned in the Mediterranean so far this year, many of them refugees fleeing war in the Middle East and Africa.
"Don’t come, stay in Syria however difficult it is," said Alshano, weeping as he recounted losing his wife and children.
The family set out from Turkey, but conditions worsened while they were on the water and the boat capsized in rough surf. The bodies of some of his children have been found, but some of the family, including Alshano's wife remain missing.
Ali is from Syria - his wife & 7 kids drowned during the crossing to Europe https://t.co/6uHnA80fjg h/t @marklowen pic.twitter.com/AS1XfKZpG6— Alex Court (@CourtA) December 10, 2015
“I took my family out of Syria to escape the killing, my children could have had a future in Europe," said Alshano. "Now I’ve lost my family, my world."
His youngest child was less than one month old, the eldest was nine. None of the family were wearing life jackets during the crossing, as smugglers reassured them the short journey would be safe.
He called the smugglers "traitors." Turkey recently began a crackdown on those smuggling Syrians across the border to Greece and have arrested dozens, after it promised to halt the flow of people into Europe in exchange for funding from the EU.
But like many other Syrian refugees, Alshano faced few options. More than 4 million Syrians have fled during the bloody four-year civil war that has left the country in shambles. Millions more are believed to be internally displaced within Syria's borders.
"I would say don’t take this risk," said Alshano.
His story is one that has been repeated far too often this year. Earlier this week, six children from an Afghan family drowned when the rubber dinghy they were traveling in sank in the Aegean sea.