The father of a seven-year-old girl crushed to death in a people smuggler's boat crossing the English Channel has revealed he was desperate to make the journey to the UK after being rejected for asylum in Europe 14 times since fleeing Iraq 15 years ago.
Ahmed Al Hashimi's family were making their fourth attempt to cross the Channel when his daughter, Sara, died under the weight of bodies on the overloaded boat.
Mr Al Hashimi said he had repeatedly applied, unsuccessfully, for asylum in Belgium and Sweden.
“I will never forgive myself. But the sea was the only choice I had. Everything that happened was against my will. I ran out of options,” he told the BBC.
“People blame me and say how could I risk my daughters? But I've spent 14 years in Europe and have been rejected."
Mr Al Hashimi appealed to the British government for support. “If people were in my place, what would they do? Those who [criticise me] haven't suffered what I've suffered. This was my last option,” he said.
The number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel has hit a record high for the first four months of a calendar year. A total of 7,567 people made the journey from January to April, provisional Home Office figures show.
That is a 27 per cent increase on the same period in 2023 (5,946) and 13 per cent higher than in the first four months of 2022 (6,691).
On Tuesday, 268 people arrived in the UK in five boats, and crossings continued on Wednesday.
Sara’s death and her family’s attempted crossing showed the extremes that refugees are being pushed to in order to find a safe place to live, said a campaigner.
“It shows how desperate people are,” said Mary Atkinson, campaigns and networks manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, a UK charity that gives legal aid to migrants.
“Every death at the border is not just a tragedy but a huge and clear failure on the part of the British government,” she told The National.
The UK's strategy of “deterrence” through deportation was not working, she added, contrary to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's declaration.
Though the British government’s Safety of Rwanda Act only passed last week, the bill had been talked about for more than two years – enough time for any deterrence to start coming into effect, she said.
“If deterrence was going to work it would have worked a long time ago. It just makes it more dangerous to seek asylum,” said Ms Atkinson.
The UK started detaining migrants who face deportation to Rwanda this week, with plans to start flights to Kigali in the next nine to 11 weeks. It follows ratification of the UK Rwanda treaty last week alongside the passage of the Act.
It has caused panic among asylum seekers in the UK, Ms Atkinson said.
“We’re getting calls from people at various stages of the asylum process in a panic about the detentions,” she said.
“People who have risked everything to get to safety, they have communities here – family, friends – and the prospect of that being taken away is terrifying,” she added.
She called for a “a safe and fair way to claim asylum and have that assessed fairly and efficiently”.
The policy's deterrence effect will be tested against the sheer will of people like the Hashimi family to find sanctuary in European countries.
Mr Al Hashimi fled Basra, Iraq, in 2009 after being threatened by militias. His three children were born in Belgium, and Sara, his youngest, had spent more of her life in Sweden.
“If I knew there was a 1 per cent chance that I could keep the kids in Belgium or France or Sweden or Finland I would keep them there. All I wanted was for my kids to go to school. I didn't want any assistance. My wife and I can work. I just wanted to protect them and their childhoods and their dignity,” he said.
Deadly crossing
The smugglers had assured the family only 40 people, mostly Iraqis, would get on the boat. Mr Al Hashimi paid €1,500 ($1,600) per adult and half that for each child to make the crossing.
But a separate group of Sudanese migrants appeared on the beach and insisted on coming aboard, crowding the boat.
French police had attempted to stop the group from boarding, with tear gas canisters exploding, and smugglers used fireworks and sticks to ward them off.
As the boat drifted, Mr Al Hashimi could be heard from the coast shouting for help in the chaos, as he implored those around him to save his daughter.
“I'm a construction worker. I'm strong. But I couldn't pull my leg out. No wonder my little girl couldn't either. She was under our feet,” he said.
Migrants try to cross the English Channel from France – in pictures
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Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
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Referee Bobby Madley
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Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
India Test squad
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How to apply for a drone permit
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- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
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What are the regulations?
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
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WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
