In the dock over son’s drowning on sea crossing

The last time Ayoubi Nadir remembers seeing his son alive was just before midnight on November 7. It was cold and he was holding the 5-year-old in his arms. The boat they were in was packed and the sea was choppy. The 25-year-old Afghan father was scared but was trying hard not to let the boy sense his fear.

The lights of the Greek island of Samos were just visible through the inky darkness, giving him hope. They were minutes from land when a wave threw their boat onto rocks. In the impact, father and son were separated. Nadir, barely able to keep himself afloat, called out his son's name, knowing that the child would recognize his father's voice even in the din of others crying out.

Nadir had grown extremely attached to Yahya in the three years that he had been divorced and was raising the boy alone in Istanbul, where he eked out a living working in construction....