Another Iranian Family Seeking Asylum Drowns in English Channel
Society and Politics News Blog, Kodoom.com
According to Persian news media, a family of Iranian asylum seekers, including three children, have reportedly drowned when their boat capsized in English Channel.
Construction worker Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35, along with Anita, nine, and Armin, six, perished during the tragedy on Tuesday. Their toddler son, Artin (shown above), is yet to be found and searches have been called off. Two men are also missing, the Dunkirk prosecutor confirmed today.
The Iran-Nejad family had endured an arduous 80-day journey across several countries. The family were sleeping in a two-man tent in a makeshift camp in the Puythouck woods that is home to at least 200 immigrants, mainly from Iraq and Iran. A pair of shoes, a frying pan and a toy were outside the tent.
The family - who were not given life jackets - had sold their house before leaving Iran and paid human traffickers (smugglers) £14,000 to get on to the boat, with a further £8,200 supposed to be due when they arrived safely in the UK.
The family were from the city of Sardasht in western Iran, near to the border with Iraq. Relatives of a Kurdish-Iranian family who died while trying to cross the Channel are facing a bill of more than £90,000 to bring their bodies back to Iran, it emerged today - as French officials confirmed three people including their baby are still missing.
Fifteen other migrants were taken to hospital and an investigation into the sinking has been opened in Dunkirk by the French public prosecutor.
Farhad Shekari, 28, a migrant who knew the family, said he had urged them not to attempt the crossing. He had been due to travel with them but decided against it after seeing a people smuggler forcing migrants to board the flimsy vessel amid perilous conditions, including winds of up to 47mph: "The smugglers are only interested in one thing and that is money."
An estimated five million Iranians are believed to live in diaspora or in exile. On a per-capita basis, Iran has one of the world's highest numbers of expatriates or asylum seekers wishing to immigrate to other countries due to economic and cultural restrictions in the country.
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