‘Masud should not have died like this. This must be changed’

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/24/masud-should-not-have-died

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He was the boy looking forward to life in Britain with his family, but whose death galvanised demands for unaccompanied child refugees to be allowed into the UK.

Although Masud Naveed, 15, was legally entitled to claim entry to the UK to be reunited with his sister, the Home Office refused to consider his application for asylum.

Disillusioned with existence in the squalid “Jungle” camp in Calais, Masud boarded a lorry destined for England at the start of the year, but died from suffocation.

Following a campaign by the charity Citizens UK, backed by the Observer, a court ruled that the Home Office was wrong to refuse to consider cases like that of Masud, paving the way for hundreds of others stranded in northern France to cross the Channel under EU “family reunion” rules.

Four Syrian refugees from the Calais “Jungle” arrived in London on Friday following the court victory, a joyous crowd greeting them with balloons and placards saying: “Welcome To Britain” and “Refugees Welcome Here”.

Masud’s death is all the more poignant because the teenager was about to claim asylum in Sweden before suddenly deciding that he wanted to live with his sister in England, travelling to Calais last September. “He changed his mind because he wanted to be with his sister in the UK, he wanted to be with his family,” said Mohammad Nabi, a fellow Afghan who shared a tent with Masud in the “Jungle”.

Speaking for the first time publicly about Masud’s death, his brother-in-law, Sameer Naveed, who travelled to France to identify the teenager’s body, said: “Our family has been completely devastated by the news of Masud’s death. Words cannot describe the pain felt by me and my wife, Masud’s sister.

“Masud should not have died like this. He belonged with us, his family, and as we heard in the court case this week these young boys have a legal right to have their claims considered in the UK.

“No one should have to face the choices Masud did, no one should have to live in the ‘Jungle’. We are heartbroken, this must be changed.”

Hopes that such a change can be achieved have grown after lawyers for Citizens UK argued at an immigration and asylum tribunal that refugees have the right to join their families under the Dublin regulations that govern asylum in Europe and under Article 8 of the European convention on human rights.

George Gabriel of Citizens UK said: “The arrival of the boys this week was a privilege to be part of. We witnessed the joy and relief of families reunited after being separated by the horrors of war, thanks to the work of so many and the British legal system supporting those most in need. This joy was clouded with sadness, knowing that Masud, whose young life was ended so terribly, could have benefited from this safe, legal route.

“We are still awaiting the full judgment, and there are many unaccompanied minors left out in the cold and miserable conditions of the ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais this weekend, so it’s clear there is still much work to do in the weeks and months ahead.”