Song for Alan (Aylan): 'Oh Canada' by Missy Higgins. Watch, Listen & Share It

February 19, 2016

Award-winning Australian musician, Missy Higgins has released her newest song, titled 'Oh Canada', which is about 3 year old Syrian refugee Alan (originally reported as Aylan) Kurdi and his family's plight for sanctuary.

The video clip of the song includes drawings by children in a Caritas program in Damascus, Syria.

Please watch the video and share it where you can.

Purchase 'Oh Canada' on iTunes

100 per cent of net proceeds will go to the ASRC (Asylum Seekers Resource Centre) in Footscray, Victoria, Australia

The only survivor in the Kurdi family was Alan’s father, Abdullad, and Higgins says she tried to write Oh Canada from his perspective, because “his quest was so relatable”.

“I imagined that during that tumultuous boat journey, his heart cried out for Canada to embrace him and his family. Obviously, in this song, ‘Canada’ represents anywhere in the world that might be the preferred sanctuary for people like the Kurdi’s,” Higgins says.

“Amongst other countries, it represents Australia which has such an abhorrent record in dealing with people seeking asylum who try to travel to our shores by boat. Some sections of the media have helped turn these poor people into criminals, but in reality they are usually exactly like us; just not lucky enough to be born into our privilege.”

Higgins says she hopes Oh Canada can inspire people “to do something on behalf of refugees — to speak up for their rights and to push back against those who seek to inflame our fears and prejudices”.