I did not come to the UK on a small boat because I was reckless, desperate or careless with my life. I came because every legal door was closed to me. And the danger I faced at home left me with no real choice. Now, however, I am staring down the barrel of a British government policy that could put me in harm’s way again.
In my home country, I had a stable job helping manage an oilfield. I was not a failure and was not running towards Europe for a better salary or an easier life. I was running away from power, corruption and injustice. I had to flee because of a powerful, influential individual who targeted me. Where I am from, when someone like that decides to destroy you, there is no protection, no court you can rely on and no future. I tried many times to leave my country legally, but no other country would accept my case. The situation became urgent. Staying meant serious harm or death.
I first went to France – but even there I did not feel safe. I knew the person I was running from could reach me. The power of smugglers, human trafficking networks and organised crime in France is well known to asylum seekers. I received threats and my family received threats as well. I lived in constant fear. That is why I made the most dangerous decision of my life: to cross the Channel on a small boat. After I left France to travel to the UK, my family received a call from a French number threatening to harm me. They said that they hadn’t managed to catch me while I was in France – but that if I returned there, they would get me.
