The boy was in Bodrum, a Turkish holiday resort which is perfectly safe.
You can buy holidays there.
https://www.thomascook.com/holidays/turkey/bodrum/
He could still be alive there now except that his mother chose to take him on an unseaworthy boat.
Now, if I was a refugee who had recently escaped the terror and possible death in Syria I'd be very happy to be in a safe country like Turkey even if life wasn't ideal.
I wouldn't risk my life, or my children's, on the open sea in a tiny boat just to try to reach another country which I'd prefer to live in.
If refugees in Calais drowned themselves trying to get to the UK I'd be of the same opinion.
A camp in Calais is not ideal, but it is safe.