Immigrant boat crashes on English Channel: A father searches for his daughters and wife

 BBC News

Iraqi Kurd Razgar Hussein with his youngest daughter Hasti, wife Kajal and eldest daughter Hadia

Razgar Hussein last spoke to his daughter Hadia from Iraq on Tuesday night.Hadia had called him from northern France to tell her that she was going to board a boat with her mother, sister and brother. Hadia was delighted to be finally arriving in the UK.

But since then, Razgar Hussain has no information about his family. The next day after talking to Hadia, Razgar saw on TV that 27 people had drowned while trying to reach Britain.

"I am just waiting for someone to tell me something," Razgar Hussain told the BBC. I just want to know if they are alive or dead. "

He is one of the many Iraqi Kurds who want to know about the well-being of their family members after the tragedy of a migrant boat sinking in the English Channel between France and Britain last Wednesday.

So far only one person has been confirmed dead in the crash, a 24-year-old Kurdish woman named Maryam Nouri Muhammad Amin.

Hadia with her younger sister Hasti. Hadia had spoken to her father on the phone a few moments before boarding the boat

Razgar Hussain's wife, Kajal Hussain, 45, his daughter Hadia, 22, a 16-year-old son, Mubeen, and a seven-year-old daughter, Hasti, were from a Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Razgar says he did not want his family to go to Europe and that he would go with them and lose his police job.

But his family always wanted to go to Britain for a better life. Zargar had promised them that if they arrived in the UK they would meet him online.

They wanted to go, they all wanted to live a good and quiet life. No one is happy here, from a seven-year-old to an 80-year-old.

"If conditions were better, no one would emigrate. Who wants to go that way?" No one.'

Razgar Hussain's family began their journey four months ago. They first arrived in Turkey, from where they were smuggled by land and sea to Italy. He stayed in a camp in Italy for three weeks.

He then arrived in northern France and settled in a camp there. Razgar talked to his family members several times a day.

Soon these people got in touch with the smugglers. The smugglers promised to take him to Britain, but three such attempts failed.

The first time they were on their way to Britain, they were apprehended by French police. The second time his boat ran out of fuel, he had to return to shore. In the third attempt, the boat's motor broke down and the men were brought back to shore by the police.

Zargar's daughter Hadia then called him last Tuesday. He said, Abu, we are leaving in five minutes. At that moment, everyone is sitting in the boat." I told my daughter to be careful. '

That was the last thing that happened between the two of them. I have called hundreds of times but no one answered."

The next day, Razger saw on TV the news of the deaths of 27 people who were trying to cross the sea to Britain. He has not yet received any official word on the matter and is in the process of contacting journalists to see if he has any news.

'I can't do anything, I can't eat or drink or sleep. I think i'm going crazy No one can ease my pain. '

They are still hoping for some good news.I will not believe anything until I hear their voices or see their latest pictures. I do not want to believe anything at this time.

Razgar Hussain is still hoping for some good news that his wife, daughters and son are alive

Razgar's mother-in-law Qadriya Amin says she also did not want her daughter Kajal and her grandchildren to go on this dangerous journey.

"I was telling them not to go. I told them, 'Don't go into this water, you can drown.'

But Kajal wanted to give her children a better life, which was not possible in Iraq, where food and water are scarce. Kajal's brother also left Iraq and has now reached Greece.

Qadriya Amin said, "I am a mother and my heart burns for my children who have some dreams. They want to go there, they want to complete their education.

Hadia's dream was to become a doctor in the UK. Hadia's grandmother Qadriya Amin says that the news of the deaths in the accident on the English channel has broken her heart. Now she can only pray for her daughter and grandchildren.

It simply came to our notice then.Everyone wants a better life for their children.