Iraqi family lost daughter who drowned crossing to the UK. Maryam Nouri, who perished last week along with at least 26 others in an ill-fated voyage with dreams of reaching the United Kingdom, left behind snow globes, teddy bears, and cosmetic brushes in northern Iraq.
Friends and family dubbed Nouri Baran, and a wake for her was held in Soran, Iraq’s Kurdish semi-autonomous northern province, on Sunday. In accordance with local norms, male relatives sat outside the family home, counting prayer beads in her memory. They reported her body has not yet been returned to Iraq due to legal concerns.
Nouri, 24, had boarded an inflatable boat carrying passengers in the hopes of reuniting with her fiance, Karzan, in the United Kingdom. She had obtained a Schengen visa for travel in Europe and had traveled to Italy on November 1st, followed by Germany and France.
She didn’t tell her fiance until it was too late that she was planning to cross the English Channel on Wednesday. The rickety boat sank a few kilometres off the coast of France, drowning at least 27 individuals on their way to the United Kingdom. It was dubbed the “worst migratory tragedy on the bridge” by France’s interior minister. The nationalities of the deceased were unknown at the time, however many are thought to be Iraqis.
People fleeing conflict or poverty in Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea, and elsewhere are undertaking the risky trek across the Mediterranean in small, unseaworthy ships, hoping to gain asylum or better chances in the United Kingdom. In comparison to 2020, the number of crossings has increased this year.
Aid organizations have accused European governments of the recent spike in smuggling by blaming them on increasingly tough migration policies.
Iraqi family lost daughter who drowned crossing to the UK. Nouri has attempted numerous times to obtain a visa to the United Kingdom.
People from Iraq’s comparatively secure Kurdish region have made up a disproportionate number of those seeking asylum, selling their homes, cars, and other goods to pay traffickers with the aim of reaching the European Union. Rising unemployment, pervasive corruption, and a recent economic crisis that lowered state salaries have eroded people’s faith in their autonomous region’s future prospects and fueled their desire to leave.
Large red teddy bears cover Nouri’s nicely made bed in her undisturbed bedroom. There are cosmetic brushes and snow globes, one of which is of a freshly married couple, as well as images of her fiancé.
Nouri Dargalayi, Nouri’s father, greeted guests as the men gathered to recite verses from the Quran.
He pointed to the spot where relatives had gathered to pay their respects, where his daughter held her engagement ceremony.
“[The couple] were trying to build a decent life for themselves, but it ended,” he said.
