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Queen Rania Imagines a Different Future for Drowned Three-Year-Old Refugee

January 16, 2016

Earlier this week, Charlie Hebdo shocked the world with a cartoon that implied three-year-old Alan Kurdi would have grown up to be a sexual predator.

In response, Queen Rania of Jordan drew her own cartoon and released it on Twitter.

“Aylan could’ve been a doctor, a teacher, a loving parent…” Queen Rania said in a post on Twitter.

The cartoons, which were also drawn with French and Arabic captions, were shared hundreds of times shortly after they were posted.

Queen Rania has previously called for the international community to do more to tackle the refugee crisis.

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French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s latest cartoon had been described as “disgusting”, “insensitive”, and “racist” by social media users for suggesting drowned three-year-old Alan Kurdi would have grown up to be a sexual predator.

Charlie Hebdo's cartoon on the left and Alan Kurdi on the right.
Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon on the left and Alan Kurdi on the right.

Under the heading of “Migrants”, the cartoon shows two pig-like men with their tongues out chasing two scared women. Above the image, a small cartoon of Alan’s lifeless body is depicted with the question “What would little Aylan had grown up to be?” Under the cartoon, the answer is stated as “An ass groper in Germany.”

The cartoon implied that all refugees would either become or already are sexual predators, referring to the recent sexual attacks on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany.

Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian toddler, drowned and his body washed up on a Turkish shore in September 2015. The young boy’s death resulted in global outrage and even encouraged Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris to offer to buy an island for refugees.

In response to the cartoon, social media users have reacted angrily, calling it an irresponsible and disgusting act. Some users even tweeted #JeNeSuisPasCharlie (#IAmNotCharlie), citing the popular hashtag #JeSuisCharlie that went viral after the magazine’s offices were attacked last year.

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