Ohn Gharib Ahmed spent five hours outside the Calais Police Station on Saturday, desperately waiting for news. “The weather is too cold. There is no answer,” he said. Ahmed is seeking confirmation that his brother-in-law, Twana Mamand, was one of 27 people killed in the strait on Wednesday because the fragile boat took them to Britain and sank. “I want to see his body. I must understand,” Ahmed told the Guardian.
It is mainly the relatives of Iraqi Kurds who have lost their lives on the busiest shipping lanes in the world who spent the weekend in anxiety and confusion. Ahmed said that the last time he heard the news of his brother-in-law was at 3 o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, about when Tewana set out from the beach near Dunkirk in the dark.After two days of silence, Ahmed and his wife Kyle Mamand-Tewana’s sister-moved from their home in London to the north. France, Arrived on Friday night.
The body of the deceased was taken to the basement morgue in Calais Hospital on the outskirts of the port. According to Ahmed, French detectives told him that it would not be possible to determine Twana’s identity until the hospital reopened at 10 am on Monday. “They have performed a DNA test. They explained that sometimes you can’t recognize it. If you see a corpse, the face may change or be bruised, and DNA is better,” he said.
Ahmed said that he is now unwilling to accept the fact that Twana has left. At the same time, he has been on the phone, talking with his family living near the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraqi government officials willing to take Twana’s body home, and local refugee charities. “Until we are sure, I don’t want to make anyone happy or sad,” he said. “There are six to eight families in the same situation.”
What happened last week is unclear. Twana is a member of a group that includes his friend Harem Pirot and another young Kurdish Muhammad Shakar. There is also a family of four from Darbandi Khan, a Kurdish town in Iraq: 45-year-old Hazar Hussein and her 22-year-old child Haida, 16-year-old son Mubin and 7-year-old daughter Hasti. Shakar seems to be one of only two survivors. After the French fisherman sounded the alarm, he and a Somali refugee were pulled out of the water. They suffered from hypothermia and exhaustion.
Relatives said that Shahar decided to travel to the UK from Kurdistan to earn money for his sister who needed medical help. The family is considering setting up a crowdfunding page. Shahar has never arrived in London and is currently receiving treatment at Calais Hospital and is recovering from the ordeal. His evidence is likely to be used in future prosecutions of suspected Kurdish smugglers who arranged this unfortunate crossing. French authorities arrested five of them. It may also help answer the key question: What caused their shaky ship to sink?
Before setting off in a small boat, Twana had more painful problems in the camp near Dunkirk. 27-year-old Nassar Mustafapor said he was looking for information about his 23-year-old friend Sirwan Alipur. “He is missing. We don’t know what happened to him,” Nasser said, showing a picture of his friend. Alipur was one of dozens of Iraqi Kurds who crossed the border under seemingly perfect conditions on Wednesday night-flat seas and clear skies. Nassar said he might be in the UK or a morgue now.
Despite the tragedy that happened on Wednesday, many people in the camp on the outskirts of Grande-Synthe said they planned to travel to the UK by boat. The weather is terrible now. It seems that few boats have been launched in recent days. On Saturday night, heavy rains and winds hit a row of tents where Iraqis and a few Afghans camped beside canals and woods. There is no toilet or running water. This is a stern presence, and the relentless cold and lack of news make the situation worse.
It is worth noting that the residents seem to be stoic towards their situation. They said that before arriving in the UK, they had no choice but to endure the winter conditions. A group is busy building a makeshift restaurant out of logs; friends who met in Turkey during a long land trip to France sit around a campfire next to an abandoned railroad track. There are several families among young people. A couple took their two disabled children on an uncertain journey; their wheelchairs parked neatly next to the tent.
“It’s too cold. We must try to get to London,” said Amanji, a 20-year-old Kurdish political activist from Iran. He explained that when the French police were away, smugglers would show up at the camp. They usually wear masks. “They come when the weather is good. You can’t see their faces. They will tell if the sky is beautiful [to go by boat] And ask if you would like to come with them. If you say yes, they will ask you to use WhatsApp. Then they pick you up in a van and take you to the beach. “
Amanj said that Twana’s friend Harem Pirot made multiple attempts to cross the English Channel before attempting to cross the English Channel on Wednesday, which eventually led to his death. He said that some people in their group are now starting to reconsider. But he added that he still intends to cross. “I will do it,” he said.
