The mother of a 21-year-old woman who died after being crushed in an overcrowded boat crossing the Channel has said the family have ‘no option’ but to seek asylum in Britain.
Amira Al Shamari, 52, said her family of six who arrived in France on July 1, have attempted the crossing six times, including the night her daughter died attempting to make the perilous journey.
But, she said, they will do it again in order to build a new life in Britain.
The family, who are Kuwaiti Bidoon, a stateless Arab minority, fled the Gulf state in 2018. They had heard the UK accepted Kuwaiti Bidoon people.
Speaking from Calais, Ms Al Shamari said: ‘We have no options here, where should we go? Who’s going to give us the protection? We have to do that again.’
Her daughter Dina Al Shammari was travelling with her three younger siblings, aged 13 to 19, and parents, when she died off the coast of Calais on July 28.
Ms Al Shamari said the family believed there would be 60 people on the boat, but on the day of the crossing they discovered the numbers were ‘double’.
Amira Al Shamari, 52, holding a picture of her daughter Dina
Dina Al Shammari died being crushed in an overcrowded boat trying to cross the English Channel
‘The boat was so crowded. Dina was the first one, she ran to the boat because she wanted to go to the UK as soon as possible,’ she said through an interpreter.
‘Then they followed her and, just like squeezing her from all over the place. When squeezing her she wasn’t able to breathe, and she started shouting.’
Her father, Ratham Al Shammari, 75, who uses a wheelchair, did not make it on to the boat.
According to Ms Al Shammari, the people carrying him left him at the shore as they tried to get to the boat themselves when they saw it starting to leave.
The mother-of-four described how the boat was at sea for about an hour before the French coastguard reached them.
She said some on the boat wanted to save her daughter, while some people threatened the family and the driver with a knife to keep going rather than call for help.
‘When we noticed the French coastguard in the sea, we were trying to say ‘save us, save us’ because my daughter is choking,’ Ms Al Shammari said.
Pictured: Migrants being helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England
Pictured: Migrants travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England
‘The people inside the boat, they threatened us ‘don’t stop the boat’ and they had a knife.’
Of the driver, she added: ‘He wanted to stop because he said this girl will die, and they threatened the driver with a knife and (said) don’t stop and continue your journey.’
Ms Al Shammari said the French coastguard tried to save them and picked up 20 people who were ‘over’ Dina, adding: ‘When they reached Dina she wasn’t breathing.’
According to the French maritime prefecture, 34 people were rescued from the ‘heavily loaded’ boat at about 5.30am, while others on the boat refused help and continued the journey to the UK.
Ms Al Shammari was taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital where she was declared dead.
Her mother described her as someone who liked cooking, travelling, nature and ‘everything beautiful in this life’.
She wanted to study to become a dentist when she reached the UK, learn more English and above all ‘feel safe’.
Pictured: Migrants are brought into Dover Port by Border Force officials after being picked up in the English Channel
Human rights organisation Minority Rights Group says that Kuwait currently categorises Bidoon people as illegal residents, and because of their stateless status they face difficulties getting civil documents, finding employment, accessing health, education and social services, and many live in relative poverty because of it.
‘We always feel scared there, and Dina especially she (was) afraid of the police,’ Ms Al Shammari said.
‘We (weren’t) able to stand the situation there, so we decided to go to the UK.’
When the family left Kuwait, they originally planned to seek refuge in the UK as they understood the country accepts Kuwaiti Bidoon people.
They took a flight to Turkey before continuing their journey to Greece and arrived in Germany in 2021, where they were processed.
But they were refused asylum there, prompting them to try to get to the UK.
‘If the German authority gave us the protections at the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to use a boat and cross the Channel to reach the UK,’ Ms Al Shammari said.
Pictured: An inflatable dinghy carrying migrants makes its way to England
‘I want to tell people I’m struggling, I’m really struggling to find my kids a better future and good career,’ she said.
‘This world is unfair, not all the persons, not all the world, (but) the people that we met during that journey.’
An investigation into Ms Al Shammari’s death is continuing in France, while in the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested and bailed a 29-year-old Egyptian man on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration, in connection with the crossing.
Ms Al Shammari’s family are waiting for her body to be released by the authorities, and collective Groupe Deces in France are trying to raise 5,000 euros (£4,280) to help pay for her burial.
This year so far 17 people have died in the English Channel, according to confirmed reports by the French coastguard from rescue operations.