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Abdullah’s sister, Tima, said she was planning to sponsor Abdullah’s family but had not yet applied.

“I was trying to sponsor them, and I have my friends and my neighbours who helped me with the bank deposits, but we couldn’t get them out, and that is why they went in the boat,” Tima said Wednesday. “I was even paying rent for them in Turkey, but it is horrible the way they treat Syrians there.”

But she clarified at a press conference Thursday that had not formally begun the process to sponsor Abdullah, his wife and two sons. She said she was first dealing sponsoring her older brother, Mohammad.

She did say that a her local MP, New Democrat Fin Donnelly, personally delivered a letter to Chris Alexander asking for help from his office for young Alan Kurdi and his family.

The department of Foreign Affairs released a statement Thursday saying Mohammad Kurdi’s application was received, but was “returned as it was incomplete as it did not meet regulatory requirements for proof of refugee status recognition.”

“There was no record of an application received for Mr Abdullah Kurdi and his family.”

Donnelly, however, said the family had indeed pursued refugee status for the Kurdis and his letter reflected that. There was no immediate word whether the government got the request. Donnelly couldn’t be immediately reached for comment following Tima Kurdi’s news conference.