A Syrian NHS worker who arrived in the UK via refugee boat has projected a powerful video message on the White Cliffs of Dover, calling for compassion for people seeking asylum.
Hassan Akkad, who took up a job as a cleaner in his local hospital to help during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, addressed the recent increase in media attention on sea crossings to Britain, and asked for people to have more understanding about the conditions that provoke some to attempt the dangerous journey across the sea.
In the two-minute video, which was projected onto the landmark by campaigners Led By Donkeys, Hassan speaks about his own experience and nodded towards the significance of having this message shown on the cliffs.
He said: ‘Five years ago, I was on the other side of this channel trying to cross here. These cliffs were actually visible from our makeshift camp and they represented hope.
‘Hope that I would live a safe and stable life here in Britain having fled my war-torn country.’
The Government has been under increasing pressure to control numbers of people entering the country through illegal crossings, with home secretary Priti Patel having recently appointed former Marine Dan O’Mahoney as channel commander in charge of tackling small boats.
But Labour and other opposition MPs and charities have criticised the lack of compassion in the Government’s response, particularly after the body of a 16-year-old washed up on a beach near Calais earlier this week.
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The boy, from Sudan, drowned after falling overboard during an attempt to make the Channel crossing to the UK.
In the video, Hassan made his own critique of the Government for their handling of the Covid-19 crisis, and accuses them of using migrants as a scapegoat to distract from other issues.
Hassan reported: ‘There are around 30 million refugees around the world and Britain is home to only 1% of them.
‘Britain is, however, facing other crises but we are being used again as a distraction from the actual crises facing this country caused by the people who are running it.’
Hassan, according to The New European, is also is a refugee rights activist and previously worked as an English teacher and photographer in Damascus.
Having arrived in the UK through crossing the channel in a small boat, he expanded on how frightening it was, and how helpless it made him feel: ‘Similar to those who are arriving recently, I had to put my trust in a people smuggler, because a safe and legal option to seek asylum here was and still is unavailable.
‘Crossing the sea on a rubber dinghy is terrifying and devastating. Devastating because it makes you feel so helpless and insignificant. And I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.’
Hassan ended the powerful message with a reminder of the hardships that so many have faced in recent months, and an appeal for people to have an understanding that people who attempt to enter the country this way do so due to lack of an option to stay.
‘The only difference between you and us is luck. We did not choose for our countries to become so unsafe that even the deadly sea offered a better prospect,’ he said.
‘The past few months have proved that wherever we come from in the world we are united by the love and concern we hold towards our loved ones.
‘Just like you, we want what is best for us and for our families.’
MORE: As a refugee, I know those crossing the Channel need help, not hate
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