How Aylan Kurdi changed Canada

WEEK 6.

By Paula Newton, CNN
Updated 2024 GMT (0324 HKT) October 10, 2015

Clutching pages of information and pamphlets, Kate McNaughton is one of thousands of Canadians who says she's serious about transforming her good intentions toward refugees into extraordinary action, even if it means putting up her own money to do it.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to do it more quickly than we did in the past, with the current government's support," says McNaughton, a nurse-practitioner who along with hundreds of others made it to a public forum in Ottawa in late September on how to help Syrian refugees come to Canada.

If there's anything that Aylan Kurdi taught Canada, it's that every minute counts -- every minute, every day, every piece of paper and bureaucratic necessity that stands between a Syrian refugee's misery and a new life in Canada.

"We're still waiting for more information on how to speed the process up," says McNaughton. "I think that there's going to be a lot of administrative hours spent but hopefully it will result in a good outcome."

"My understanding of refugee crises, the history of refugees coming to Canada and generally a sense of social responsibility, that's why I came here," says Andina Van Isschot, as she armed herself with information and contacts.

Thousands of Canadians, from every corner of the country, have flooded charities, faith groups and legal advocates with offers of support and money -- and questions of how they can best help.

"We've got to get people together because people are coming up to all of us and saying, 'How can we help?'" says Jim Watson, the mayor of Ottawa and the organizer of the public forum. "They want to help, they want to sponsor a family they want to provide financial support."

"You've seen an entire country mobilize city by city, community by community, to go and really do whatever we can to help," says Watson.

'Sometimes it just takes one image'

It's been more than a month since Canadians saw the image of 2-year-old Aylan Kurdi, his life ended on a Turkish beach instead of flourishing on Canadian soil as his Canadian family had dreamed. In a country singled out around the world for its generosity to both immigrants and refugees, the death of Aylan -- as well as his mother and 4-year-old brother -- as they waited to be granted asylum in Canada was a profound blow to some.

"Oh yeah, it's a concern, for sure, I wish we were doing a lot more," says Jane Snider, a member of Ottawa's Mennonite Church, a group already sponsoring Syrian refugees and looking to sponsor more.

"Sometimes it just takes one image, like that little girl in Vietnam," says Snider.

Snider is referring to the image of a naked 9-year-old running for her life after her body was scorched by napalm. The photo of Kim Phuc was taken more than four decades ago during the height of the Vietnam War. Phuc eventually claimed asylum in Canada and in May she told CNN she considers the photo a "blessing" that helped bring about peace.

Snider sees the power of the image of Aylan as an important catalyst for people who want to support bringing Syrian refugees to Canada, but she is realistic about what it takes in real terms.

"Just having the personal support for families when they come, it takes a lot of time and effort," she says, adding that the bureaucracy and all the forms required can be daunting.

Taking it all in is Tima Kurdi, Aylan's aunt, who was trying for months to find a way to bring her brother's family to Canada.

Time is of the essence

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to say. I heard from my husband and my friends that Canada will change the rules and now it will be faster and easier," Kurdi told CNN from Kurdistan, where she is currently traveling to see family.

Amid public pressure following Aylan's death, the Canadian government announced it would take 1,000 more Syrian refugees, it would try to streamline the process and it would match, dollar for dollar, all donations raised for the Syria Emergency Relief Fund until the end of the year.

"Yes, my nephew did change the world for politicians; they think of humanity," says Kurdi.

At the public forum in Ottawa, Aylan never seemed far from people's thoughts, many citing "that image" and how it moved them. Some said they hope the outpouring will help console Aylan's family that his death will not have been in vain.

"If [Tima Kurdi] could see the outpouring of support I hope that would give her some comfort," says Michael Allen, head of the Ottawa United Way, a community-based charity trying to coordinate the city's efforts on resettling Syrian refugees.

Mayor Watson, a veteran of fundraising, says the whole world was touched by Aylan's tragedy and he doesn't want to waste any of that sentiment.

"The attention span of everyone tends to wane, and unless we sort of move quickly to do our best to get people involved and engaged and seek their financial support, it will be a missed opportunity," says Watson.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/10/americas/aylan-kurdi-canada-immigration/index.html

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The story behind the front page death of a Syrian boy
(from: youtube)

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/10/americas/aylan-kurdi-canada-immigration/index.html

Structure of the Lead
WHO	A Syrian boy, named Aylan Kurdi
WHEN	October, 2015
WHAT	His life ended
WHY
WHERE	On a Turkish beach
HOW

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Keywords:

• nurse-practitioner (n.) 醫療從事者
• forum (n.) 公開討論之場所；討論會
• bureaucratic (adj.) 官僚政治的
• necessity (adj.) 必要性
• speed...up (使)加速
• flourish (v.) 手舞足蹈
• grant (v.) 同意
• asylum (n.) 避難；收容所
• profound (adj.) 深刻的
• scorch (v.) 把...燒焦
• napalm (n.) 凝固汽油彈；汽油膠化劑
• fundraising (adj.) 籌款
• catalyst (n.) 刺激因素

Liquid water exists on Mars, boosting hopes for life there, NASA says

Week 5.

By Michael Pearson, CNN
Updated 1241 GMT (1941 HKT) September 29, 2015 

Potentially life-giving water still flows across the ancient surface of Mars from time to time, NASA scientists said Monday in revealing a potential breakthrough in both the search for life beyond Earth and human hopes to one day travel there.While the discovery doesn't by itself offer evidence of life on Mars, either past or present, it does boost hopes that the harsh landscape still offers some refuge for microbes to cling to existence."The existence of liquid water, even if it is super salty briny water, gives the possibility that if there's life on Mars, that we have a way to describe how it might survive," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA.NASA researchers using an imager aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter confirmed the watery flows by looking at light waves returned from seasonal dark streaks on the surface, long suspected to be associated with liquid water.The investigation showed the streaks absorb light at specific wavelengths associated with chemicals known to pull water from the Martian atmosphere in a process known as deliquescence, said Georgia Tech doctoral student Lujendra Ojha, who first discovered the streaks while still an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona in 2011.The chemicals allow the water to remain liquid at lower temperatures but also help keep it from boiling off in the thin atmosphere of Mars, the researchers said.It remains unclear where the water comes from. Theories include deliquescence, melting subsurface ice or even a liquid-water aquifer that feeds the process. Discovering what precisely is causing the phenomenon is a mystery for the next round of investigations, said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program.The researchers' findings are in a new paper being presented this week at the European Planetary Science Congress in France.This is not the first discovery of water on Mars.Researchers have known for many years that Mars has water frozen at its poles, in its thin atmosphere, and, most recently, in tiny puddles that appear to form at night on the surface.Nor is it the first potential clue that Mars could have once -- or may still -- host life. The Mars Curiosity rover, for instance, has detected methane on the surface of Mars, as well as other chemical signatures suggesting the possibility of past or present life.t remains to be seen whether the new discovery improves the odds of life on Mars, but researcher Mary Beth Wilhelm said the results suggest "more habitable conditions on the near surface of Mars than previously thought."How habitable, she said, depends on how salty and how cold the conditions are.But Alfred McEwen, who heads up NASA's HiRISE high-resolution camera aboard the Mars orbiter, said he's fairly confident life will one day be found on Mars."It's very likely, I think, that there's life somewhere in the crust of Mars, microbes," he said.Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA, said the discovery announced Monday puts NASA in a perfect position to look for that life."We haven't been able to answer the question, 'Does life exist beyond Earth?' " Green said. "But following the water is a critical element of that. We now have, I think, a great opportunity to be in the right locations on Mars to thoroughly investigate that."

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/28/us/mars-nasa-announcement/index.html
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Liquid water exists on Mars boosting hopes for life NASA says extraterrestrial living
火星上發現水
(from: youtube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYvdtGakF3s

Structure of the Lead
WHO	NASA
WHEN	September, 2015
WHAT	Found liquid water
WHY	Not given
WHERE	Mars
HOW	Not given

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Keywords:

• life-giving (adj.) 給予生命的
• breakthrough (n.) 突破
• microbe (n.) 微生物
• briny (adj.) 鹽水的；海水的
• imager (n.) 圖像顯示器
• deliquescence (n.) 溶解(性)；潮解(性)
• subsurface (adj.) 表面下的
• precisely (adv.) 精準地
• puddle (n.) 水坑；漥
• methane (n.) 甲烷；沼氣