Her name was Maryam Nuri Mohamed Amin. Aged 24, this young Kurdish woman is the first identified victim of the sinking in the Channel which caused the death of 27 people, Wednesday, November 24. Interviewed by the BBC (in English), her fiancé explains that her partner was writing to her on Snapchat when the canoe she was on started to deflate.
The young woman tried to reassure him by telling him that they would be rescued, but help arrived too late. A total of 17 men, seven women and three young people died in this tragedy that occurred off the coast of Calais.
According to her fiancé, Maryam, nicknamed “Baran”, was present on the boat with a member of her family. He explains that he was not aware that Maryam was attempting this crossing to the United Kingdom and that her arrival was supposed to be a surprise. Maryam’s uncle confirmed to the BBC that her niece was on the boat.
24-year-old Kurdish woman Maryam Nuri Mohamed Amin from northern Iraq is first victim of mass drowning in the English Channel to be identified. She was one of 27 people who died while attempting to cross to Britain. https://t.co/jeW9eSrhWc pic.twitter.com/dkjbI76Bbj
– Negar Mortazavi نگار مرتضوی (@NegarMortazavi) November 26, 2021
Also interviewed by the BBC, the father of Maryam felt it was a “peach” to subject human beings to such a situation.
“The whole world talks about Europe as a quiet, pleasant place, but is that calm? About thirty people dying in the middle of the sea?”
Nuri Hamadamin, Maryam’s fatherto BBC News
Maryam’s best friend Imann Hassan told the BBC her friend was “very humble” and had “a very big heart”. “When she left Kurdistan [irakien], she was very happy, she could not believe that she was going to find her fiancé “. According to her family, Maryam had made two attempts to legally join the UK, to no avail.