I came to the UK by small boat. I had no other choice

As soon as I got here, I felt relieved because I was finally safe (Picture: Getty Images)

As I walked down the street, I looked back and noticed there was a car deliberately following close behind me.

I was taking part in a protest against the Sudanese administration at the time, who were cracking down on people speaking out against them.

Suddenly, I fell to the ground and the car hit me. The wheel ended up driving over my arm, which broke my hand and cut the nerve.

I still have the large scars – as well as pain – today. It’s for this reason that my aunt advised me to flee Sudan and come to the UK – a decision that’s left me as a person seeking asylum.

I was born in Eritrea in 2002 as the only child to my parents. Unfortunately, my father was arrested in 2004 after the police – who he worked for – found out he was going to quit his job and move to Sudan. I saw him briefly in 2006 but I have never seen or heard from him since.

After this, my mother, aunt and I moved to Sudan for our own safety. Initially, I was very happy there and it felt like my home.

At school, I didn’t study much – my hobbies were all sports. I loved playing football with my friends. Devastatingly, my mother died in 2011 because of a long-standing heart condition. I was heartbroken.

Then in 2018 – at the age of 16 – my best friend (who I considered a brother) took part in a demonstration against the military dictatorship at the time, which was randomly arresting people. The demonstrations were demanding the regime go, and also protesting the economic situation in the country.

Unfortunately, at a subsequent demonstration during Ramadan in 2019, he was killed in front of the army headquarters.

After this, I felt that I had to participate in the demonstrations in his memory. That’s when I was personally targeted by the Rapid Support Forces – Sudan’s largest militias – and ran over with the aforementioned car.

My aunt knew that they wouldn’t stop until they killed me so in 2021, she convinced me to leave Sudan for Europe. She just wanted me to be safe, but the next year or so was an ordeal, to say the least.

I have no family in the UK so I just keep thinking about everything my aunt did to pay for my journey

I initially went to neighbouring Chad for two weeks and then onto Libya for 10 months. After that, I travelled to Italy on an overcrowded plastic dinghy. It was a long and exhausting journey.

We were picked up by a ship, then I was brought to shore. When I told my aunt that I had reached Italy, she was relieved and happy.

I was planning to settle in Sicily, but after three months in a camp for refugees without medical treatment or support from the government for accommodation or in claiming asylum, I travelled to Rome. When I got there, I had no other option than to live under a bridge because Italian authorities said I had no chance of settling there.

That’s when my aunt then advised me to continue my journey to find a country where I could get the medical treatment I needed – such as France or the UK. I ended up meeting an agent who was helping people get from Italy to France by lorry.

He charged €50 (£45), which I couldn’t afford, so I borrowed €20 (£18) from a friend I’d met on my journey. Because of this financial shortfall, I was told that I would have just one chance to get to France.

Thankfully, I made it but once I did, I had to get to the UK by boat. To do this, the agent was asking for a further €500 (£448), so my aunt sent the money through.

We were moved to a forest to prepare us to get onto the boat – but there was no food or water. After three days of nothing to eat or drink, the group I was with had to carry the boat we’d be using to cross the English Channel one hour from the forest to the sea. This was very difficult with my hand injury.

When we arrived at the shore, an agent gave us a compass and GPS, then assured us it was just a short distance to England.

After a long time on the sea, some people with iPhones on the boat realised we’d been going in the wrong direction. This confusion caused even more panic for us all. Eventually, we were found by a French ship, who guided us to Dover.

We finally made it to the UK after a tiring and frightening boat journey. I’m thankful that I survived, when many others do not.

As soon as I got here, I felt relieved because I was finally safe. I applied for asylum after this, but I haven’t been granted it yet.

Now, most of the time, I find myself thinking about my aunt. I have no family in the UK so I just keep thinking about everything my aunt did to pay for my journey.

Her son later told me that she now lives in a very dire situation in Sudan. She can’t even afford to buy food, which she never told me about. So I feel helpless and hopeless because I can’t give her anything back. 

I am also very worried about my arm injury. A doctor in Sudan initially told me that I would need another operation or I might lose the movement in my hand. I have managed to see a doctor in the UK, who put me on a waiting list for surgery, but I am still waiting for this to happen.

I am hoping to carry on playing football in the UK and am now registered with a team in Solihull where I am living. Football is my ambition as long as my hand injuries don’t stop me. In the meantime, I am running a lot to prepare myself and keep physically fit.

I play in attack. My favourite British team is Chelsea and I even met the coach – he has my number so I hope he is going to call me back.

I stay busy by trying to keep fit and active. In fact, it was through running a 10km race that I was introduced to a woman called Sameera, who is a community liaison coordinator with Migrant Help – a charity supporting people seeking asylum and refugees.

She has since done a lot for me, including taking me – among a group of others – on a visit to Wales, as well as helped secure a bike for me. Sameera also encouraged me to enrol in Solihull College and I am now making really good progress learning English.

When I first got to the UK, I felt safe. But now the Government is saying that it might remove us to Rwanda.

In the hotel I am staying in, everyone has been doing their best in order to learn English and integrate into the community. Now people feel like it has all been for nothing.

Sometimes people don’t even want to come out of their rooms to have their meals. Everyone is thinking that at any time they may be going to be removed to Rwanda. We’re all very concerned.

People like me have had to risk our lives by leaving our countries because we faced many difficulties.

I’d like to go back to Sudan one day if it was safe for me, but it isn’t at present. People like me just want to feel secure and live happy lives.

Migrant Help protect people affected by displacement and exploitation, helping them thrive as individuals and recover from their trauma. They support those most in need and least likely to find support elsewhere, while aiming to bridge community gaps and bring services and support together.

This article was originally published in February 2023

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