The Fateful Night: November 24, 2021

Imagine the biting cold of the English Channel, the dark waters a cruel contrast to the twinkling lights of safety
beyond reach. This was the harsh reality for Issa Mohamed Omar, a Somali national who survived one of the most deadly
tragedies in recent maritime history. Reliving the haunting events during his testimony at the Cranston Inquiry, Omar painted
a vivid picture of desperation and despair.

“The boat was beyond its capacity,” Omar recounted, each word a step back into that chilling night. As 27 souls lost
their battle against the unmerciful waves, including women and children, only Omar and one other survived to tell this
harrowing tale.

Voices Lost Amidst the Waves

Setting off with fragile hopes from the French coast, the journey was fraught with peril from the outset. About three hours
in, calamity struck. Water surged into the overloaded dinghy, an unwanted guest in an overcrowded room. Distress calls
rang out into the abyss as the passengers grappled with the impending doom.

Rory Phillips KC, representing the inquiry, emphasized the numerous urgent pleas made to French and British authorities—
calls that slipped through the cracks of miscommunication and ultimately marked “resolved” without action.

Reflecting on the moment disaster struck, Omar revealed, “When the boat overturned, people started dying all around me.
It’s unbearable to watch someone drown, struggling to breathe, knowing there is nothing you can do.”

A Fight Against Time and Nature

Surviving the night was a brutal battle. Omar clung to the remnants of the vessel, his will as resilient as the relentless
tide. “By morning, maybe 10 people were still alive,” he painfully detailed. “But as time passed, I heard fewer and fewer
voices, like a terrible song fading away.”

After the ordeal, Omar spent months in recovery; physically, mentally, and spiritually. Learning to walk again was just one
part of piecing back the parts of the life that had been shattered.

“If help had come quickly, I believe half of those people would still be alive,” he expressed, his voice resonating with
frustration and a profound sense of loss. For Omar, the delay was a painful reminder of how refugees are often perceived.
“We were ignored because we were seen as refugees, treated like animals.”

Injustice on the High Seas: A Preventable Tragedy

As the inquiry continues, the stark reality becomes clearer. 26 out of the 33 confirmed aboard have been identified,
yet four remain lost to the sea. The stories of humans like Omar highlight not just the perils of migration, but also the
systemic failures that contribute to unnecessary loss of life.

Omar highlighted the dark side of these journeys: smugglers whose promises are as empty as they are costly. “They didn’t
count the children,” he noted. Yet, this dismissive arithmetic would be devastatingly significant in the hours to come.

Crossing the Channel: Dreams Deferred

The narrative of Omar’s life reads like an odyssey—each chapter marked by survival against overwhelming odds. Fleeing
Somalia after his father’s assassination, seeking refuge only to be caught in another war in Yemen, and ultimately finding
himself in a bomb-targeted prison—Omar’s resolve was tested time and again.

“In Yemen, captured by Houthi rebels, they wanted me to fight,” he shared. “When the prison was bombed, I saw it as
my chance to escape, even if it meant facing yet another perilous journey.”

Twice, he had attempted to cross the Channel. Twice, turned back. Yet, hope persisted—a hope anchored in the belief that
reaching British waters meant sanctuary. “Smugglers told us that once we entered British waters, we would be accepted as
asylum seekers,” he explained. The UK, a beacon of possibilities, called out to those like Omar seeking to rebuild lives
from amongst the rubble of past worlds.

Issa Mohamed Omar survives, but with memories that haunt and questions left unanswered: How many more must share his
experience? What stories could they have told if only given the chance?