Kurdish village fears the worst for its loved ones after Channel disaster
“We believe this tragedy happened after the UK government conspired with the French to stop these crossings happening,” said one of the guests. “Usually the sea is full of ships and that’s why the six earlier attempts failed. But on that night it was empty and over 250 people took advantage of it. There were no police on the water. And the search and rescue drone wasn’t flying.”
One man cried as a list of missing Ranya men – mostly aged 18 to 25 – was written out and passed around. By evening, there were 10 names of people whose phones had gone silent.
“We really want to hear something,” said a villager from nearby Pashdar, who spoke to a relative in London. “We know that some of these boys are likely in a UK prison and we are thankful for that. But we know in our hearts that others are not coming home. In our culture it’s early to say this. But may God rest their souls.”
