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Migrants hold hands as they walk out of Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 4, 2015.

Migrants hold hands as they walk out of Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 4, 2015.

Frank Augstein/The Associated Press

This week, a lifeless boy's image brought new urgency to a mass human displacement that has been unfolding for years. As the conversation shifts in Canada and elsewhere, we look at where we stand and what comes next

The Globe in Hungary and Turkey

"The man tapping my shoulder has a question. He unfolds a rectangular piece of blue and white paper which I will come to recognize: a Hungarian railway ticket. Its destination is Munich and it is dated today. But since morning, no one who looks like a refugee has been allowed to enter the station. The man wants to know if the trains are running normally, whether they will go to Germany and why the authorities aren't honouring the tickets."

Joanna Slater meets families stuck in limbo as Hungary clamps down on travel


Watch The Globe lands on the Turkish beach where Alan Kurdi was found

1:59

Meanwhile, Mark MacKinnon reports, the dangers of fleeing the Middle East won't deter the thousands who seek a new life in the EU.


In Canada, federal leaders campaign under new scrutiny

Thomas Mulcair, the NDP Leader, criticized Stephen Harper for focusing his comments this week on highlighting the importance of Canada’s bombing campaign in Syria.

Thomas Mulcair, the NDP Leader, criticized Stephen Harper for focusing his comments this week on highlighting the importance of Canada’s bombing campaign in Syria.

Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

"All three major political parties resumed their regular campaign events Friday after a dramatic day as Canadian refugee policy suddenly attracted international attention." Bill Curry reports from the campaign trail.

Stephen Harper showed palpable emotion during a speech this week. Adam Radwanski digs a little deeper to find out how a leader known for his calculating ways can pivot as events dictate.

Also: a new poll suggests that Canadians are split on how this country should respond to the refugee crisis – and the fissures are consistent with partisan divides. If taking action interests you, here are ways to help.


The Kurdi family

Tima Kurdi, the aunt of the dead child, said Friday from Coquitlam, B.C., that she won't give up her fight to bring her relatives to Canada, even as brother Abdullah buried his wife and two sons in Kobani.

Meanwhile, Canadians are giving generously after seeing the tragic image. Does that reaction extent to corporate Canada?


Reminders of a dark past

Csaba Segesvari/AFP/Getty Images

Why do Canadians continue to repeat the same mistakes when it comes to refugees? Doug Saunders posits an answer.

And, as the following look at the Globe's archives shows, Canadians have shown compassion and resistance toward immigration in equal measures, despite being a nation of immigrants.


An inconsistent welcome



Globe Voices

"I've spent much of this week thinking about what Canada would look like without its generations of desperately poor people who huddled onto crowded ships and made the journey to a country that did not welcome them with open arms. I wouldn't be here writing this story if some of those people hadn't attempted that crossing; perhaps you wouldn't be here reading it."

Elizabeth Renzetti on our history of huddled masses