Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

‘I come, or I die’: fatalistic refugees say Channel crossing their only option

‘I come, or I die’: fatalistic refugees say Channel crossing their only option

Young people who have made the dangerous journey tell why they have risked all to reach the UK

In the early hours of Thursday morning, a group of newly arrived refugees huddled together on the coast of Dover. The smugglers had not halted their trade in moving people across the Channel and, just hours after 27 people died on the perilous journey, they were back at work.

There is little evidence that the latest loss of life will deter others from making the dangerous journey. After the tragic drowning of the Kurdish family who tried to cross the Channel in October last year, two asylum seekers who survived told the Guardian that, despite being deeply traumatised, they continued trying to cross and not long after made it to the UK.

One of the two, Ali, said: “The journey took seven to eight hours and my legs did not stop shaking for the entire journey.”

Several asylum seekers who have crossed in recent weeks and months said they were fully aware of the dangers but felt they had no choice.

Previously, fewer refugees crossed from northern France in small boats because it was easier to hide in lorries. But the recent increase in security at lorry transit points in northern France has added to the numbers trying to get to the UK by sea.

Ali, 28, who fled Iran because he faced persecution for his Bahá’í faith and crossed the Channel six months ago, said: “I didn’t have any other way to do it while my life was in danger.”

He is a fluent English speaker and said he had read many articles in the UK media about drownings in the Channel. He knew the Kurdish family who drowned, as he had spent time in northern France with them. He said he was fearful of getting into the boat, but the alternative was being sent back to Iran.

“We are asylum seekers, not economic migrants. If it was safe for me in my country I would apply for a job-seeker visa and come to the UK that way, and I would not try this dangerous journey,” he said.


A 23-year-old seamstress from Afghanistan, who fled forced marriage before the Taliban took control, escaping through Herat into Iran and then to Turkey, said a relative paid smugglers to bring her through Europe to northern France, where she boarded a small boat to the UK. She said: “My relative paid the smugglers a lot of money to bring me through Europe and to put me into a small boat. Because they paid a lot the smugglers treated me good. I was one of the lucky ones. If you have money it is easier.”

She said she was afraid of crossing in the small boat but was also fearful of remaining in northern France. “I am glad I have survived until now. In Afghanistan I was not free. In the UK I am waiting but I am free,” she said.

Ari, from Syria, crossed the Channel not once, but twice. He was removed to another European country under the Dublin rules, where one EU country can request permission from another to send an asylum seeker back there. Since Brexit, the UK is no longer part of this scheme.

He said there was a fatalism among desperate refugees crossing the Channel. “Either I come, or I die,’ I heard this phrase every day in Calais,” he said. “When I came to Britain I felt a strange relief inside me because I knew that this journey would end either in drowning and death, or arriving in Britain. In both cases the misery would end.”

Saam, 23, fled Iran after converting to Christianity and protesting against his government. He said the smuggler he spoke to promised that he would reach the UK by car, travelling on a ferry. He was put into a car by the smugglers, but then told to get out at the beach and forced into a dinghy at gunpoint.

He said: “The smuggler said: ‘Get in or I’ll shoot you’. I thought about my mum. She is still in Iran and she is so worried for my life. I thought that for her sake, I have to get into the boat and take this risk to try to save my life. I said to myself ‘maybe I won’t arrive, but I have to try’.”

Police patrolling the beach in northern France pass by the wreckage of a inflatable boat used in an attempt to cross the Channel.


Saam arrived in the UK but is still traumatised. “I am very afraid here. I have so much stress. I have to sleep with the light on because I am frightened,” he said. “If I was safe in Iran it would be crazy to come to a different country with different culture and different laws. I am a Christian but I will be alone here at Christmas in my room. I can only talk to the walls and the spiders.”

Mohammad, 21, from Afghanistan, came to the UK in a lorry at the age of 15. He now has leave to remain in the UK and lives on the south coast, where he has seen some of the refugees arriving recently in small boats. “I understand why they are coming,” he said.

Two of his younger brothers, aged 14 and 16, arrived in the UK just weeks ago after crossing the Channel on a small boat, escaping Afghanistan before the Taliban took control. He was overjoyed they had survived, as he had not known if they were dead or alive. “I was so excited when I spoke to them and they told me they had made it to the UK,” he said. “It was a really good moment.”

They were not able to spend much time together before his brothers were moved to the north-west of England by the Home Office. “I have only been able to visit them once. I took them into the town and bought them some clothes and things they needed.”

He said the Home Office is disputing his brothers’ ages, saying the 14-year-old is 25 and the 16-year-old is 23. When he himself claimed asylum, the ages of his brothers at the time was part of his evidence.

“My country is very rich. There are many things in Afghanistan. My wish is that one day my country will be safe and free with no fighting and no killing. When that day comes I promise you, UK, I will leave from here.”

“Everybody who gets into a small boat knows it is not safe. If there is a problem, you are going to die and the end of the day will be the end of your life.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×