Khaled Hosseini's 'Sea Prayer' commemorates the loss of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned while attempting to escape to Europe, and reflects on the broader refugee crisis affecting millions globally. The illustrated story was released as a virtual reality film in 2017 and as a short story in over 30 languages in 2018, with proceeds benefiting refugee support efforts. The document also highlights the plight of displaced persons and the importance of solidarity with refugees in search of safety.

1. “Sea Prayer” (2017)
by Khaled Hosseini (1965- )
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http://dan-williams.net/2018/8/29/sea-prayer-3
Illustration Syrian landscape, by Dan Williams1

2. Content
• Background
• Refugee crisis
• The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• How many people are on the move?
• Background for “Sea Prayer”
• Alan Kurdi - The Photo That Mattered
• The Author
• Images posted online
• Alan’s hometown Kobani
• Reference map of the Syrian Arab Republic
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3. Background
Khaled Hosseini commemorated the second anniversary of the death of
Alan Kurdi with an illustrated story animated in a virtual reality film (VR)
by @guardian
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Click on the picture to play
the video and follow the
story as the illustration is
drawn.
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4. Refugee Crisis
The United Nations stated early 2017 that ;
• “The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.
An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been
forced from home by conflict and persecution at the end of
2016. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of
whom are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless
people, who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights
such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of
movement.” (United Nations, 2018)
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5. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
• The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) works to protect the rights of
displaced and vulnerable persons during crisis.
• NRC publishes the latest statistics and a map showing the status of
the refugee crisis in the world.
• Click here:
• https://www.flyktninghjelpen.no
/flyktningregnskapet.
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Illustration: Sheltering in the ruins by Dan Williams
http://dan-williams.net/2018/8/30/sea-prayer-1 5

6. The International Organization for Migration
(IOM)
• An important source for statistics over the situation in the
Mediterranean is update: https://www.iom.int/
• The migration data portal with a global statistics is at this link;
https://migrationdataportal.org/?i=stock_abs_&t=2017
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Illustration: Exodus by Dan Williams http://dan-williams.net/2018/8/30/sea-prayer
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7. How many people are on the move?
In 2018, 57% of refugees came
from just three countries:
• Syria (6.3 mill)
• Afghanistan (2.4 mill)
• South Sudan (2.3 mill)
Neighbouring countries have taken in 4.7 million Syrian refugees.
There are:
• 2.7 million in Turkey (as of 3 March 2016)
• 1.07 million in Lebanon (as of 31 January 2016)
• 639,704 in Jordan (as of 3 March 2016)
• 246,051 in Iraq (as of 29 February 2016)
• 118,512 in Egypt (as of 31 January 2016)
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All figures are based on the most recent updates provided by UNHCR, available here.
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9. Background for “Sea Prayer”
On 2nd September 2015, Alan Kurdi drowned in the Mediterranean
Sea trying to reach safety in Europe. He was a three-years-old Syrian
refugee.
Sea Prayer, written by Khaled Hosseini, was inspired by the story of
Alan Kurdi and is dedicated to the thousands of refugees who have
perished at sea fleeing war and persecution.
Source: http://www.unhcr.org/khaled-hosseini
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10. Background for “Sea Prayer”
Sea Prayer was first produced in collaboration with UNHCR and
the Guardian as a virtual reality film released in September 2017.
In September 2018 Sea Prayer was published in over 30 languages as a
short story with illustrations by Dan Williams.
Proceeds from the sale of Sea Prayer will go to The Khaled Hosseini
Foundation and UNHCR to help fund life-saving support and build
better futures for refugees around the world. It was released to
coincide with UNHCR’s Desperate Journeys report.
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11. Background for “Sea Prayer”
The night before a potentially fatal journey, a father reflects with his
son on their life in Syria before the war – and on their unknown future.
When Alan and his family escaped from Syria, close to one million
refugees had arrived in Europe by sea. The majority were Syrians
landing in Greece.
The boat carrying the Kurdi family capsized on the way to the Greek
island of Kos. Of the four family members, only the father, Abdullah
Kurdi, survived. Abdullah was later given asylum and lives in Erbil,
Kurdistan, Iraq, today.
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12. Background for “Sea Prayer”
You may be wondering what could possibly compel refugees to make
that dangerous crossing, risking their lives and those of their children?
It may be impossible to comprehend unless you have lived the life of a
refugee yourself.
This lesson aims to give you an idea of what inspired Khaled Hosseini
to write the short story “Sea Prayer”.
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13. Hold my hand. Nothing will happen…
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http://dan-williams.net/2018/8/30/sea-prayer-2
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14. The author
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul,
Afghanistan, and moved to the United
States in 1980.
He is the author of the New York Times
bestsellers The Kite Runner, A Thousand
Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains
Echoed.
Hosseini is also a U.S. Goodwill Envoy to
the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and
the founder of The Khaled Hosseini
Foundation, a non-profit that provides
humanitarian assistance to the people of
Afghanistan.
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Khaled Hosseini at a refugee camp in
Uganda. Pic/Jordi Matas, UNHCR
Source: https://www.mid-day.com/articles/khaled-hosseini-
imagines-a-syrian-father-pain-short-story-sea-prayer/18586169
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15. “As the drownings in the Mediterranean Sea sadly continue, I hope that
Sea Prayer helps keep alive the memory of Alan Kurdi, and that it
serves as reminder of the unfathomable desperation that forces
families to risk all they have in search of hope and safety on another
shore, across the waters. We all have an individual duty to let our
friends, our families, our communities, our governments know we
support refugees, that we want to see the expansion of safe, legal
pathways for those in need of international protection, and when, if
they should reach our own doorstep in search of safety and sanctuary
that we welcome them. We can show solidarity #WithRefugees in so
many different ways. Please take action today.”
Khaled Hosseini September 2018
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16. Alan Kurdi - The Photo That Mattered
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18. Alan Kurdi’s hometown - Kobani
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Would you try to escape?
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19. Global impact of two images
Photo published 3rd September 2015 Photo published 27th May 2016
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A paramilitary police officer carries Alan’s body
that was washed up on a beach in Turkey after
the boat carrying his family sank while trying to
reach Greece. (DHA via AP)
A German rescuer holds the corpse of a drowned
baby off the Libyan coast May 27 2016.
(Christian Buettner/Eikon Nord GmbH Germany
via Reuters)
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20. Alan Kurdi, left, and his brother Ghalib Kurdi
with their father Abdullah Kurdi
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22. Illustrations from Sea Prayer by Dan Williams
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http://dan-williams.net/2018/8/29/sea-prayer-4
The Bombing of Homs
The Souk in Homs
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Pray God steers the vessel true
http://dan-williams.net/2018/8/30/sea-prayer-3
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