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The Guardian: The tragedy of the Albanian musician, whose dream was cut short on the asylum seeker ship in England

2024-02-05 20:50:39Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The Guardian: The tragedy of the Albanian musician, whose dream was cut short on
Leonard Farruk

Six months before he was found dead on the floating refugee home Bibby Stockholm , Leonard Farruku was hoping to make a new life in England.

"I came to England in August 2022. I hope to receive the documents as I am in a complex for asylum seekers. I came in a raft," the young Albanian wrote in a message to a childhood friend of his in Tirana.

His mother died when he was 17 and his father a few years later. 

"Losing my mother and then my father traumatized me, I didn't know where I was or what was happening. Now I am here seeking asylum, I live in a hotel, God protect us", he wrote.

The 27-year-old is believed to have killed himself in the toilet of the controversial refugee boat, which houses hundreds of asylum seekers off Britain's south coast.

He was seen in an agitated state the day he was later found dead.

Friends and family still wonder what drove Farruk to commit such an act, as no one thought the aspiring accordionist with a seemingly promising future would kill himself.

"We miss Leonard a lot, we will always be sad about the way he ended his life", says his sister Jola Dushku, 33 years old who lives in Lombardy, Italy.

The British Guardian network spoke to relatives and friends of the deceased as well as his teachers in Albania, to understand more about Farruk's past and the causes that led to his death.

They described him as a working boy who dreamed of becoming a musician, but was shocked by the untimely death of his mother, when he was at Jordan Misja Artistic High School, in Tirana.

After his father's death a few years later, Farruku, also known as Nardi, began to think about going to England, until he made the dangerous crossing of the strait with France in 2022, the year when a record number of 12,301 Albanians arrived in small boats to seek asylum in England.

Speaking from a poor area on the outskirts of Tirana, where Farruku also lived, his uncle Agron Farruku, tells about the pain.

"Leonard went to work legally in England, he was ambitious, he wanted work and money, he wanted to have a normal life."

Officials in England say that the Albanian was given a work permit a few days before the tragedy, but he had not yet received the news.

The 57-year-old uncle says Farruk says he didn't know he had mental health problems: "His death has hit us hard, the hardest part is not knowing what happened to him. How could he remain forgotten for 12 hours in a state plant?

"He told his sister that the conditions on the boat were good, but they were treated badly and he wanted more freedom, he complained that the officials treated him like a criminal."

Born on January 29, 1996, Farruku grew up in Vorë, on the outskirts of Tirana, with his mother, Shkëndije, and his father, Petrit, a well-known clarinet musician in the area. He has two older sisters, Marsida and Jola, who live in Italy.

The family is believed to have faced economic difficulties when they settled in Tirana in 2009, while Nardi attended Bajram Curri elementary school. They lived in a small prefabricated apartment in cold conditions.

Lindita Fejzo, Farruk's former language teacher, says that Petri's father was interested in his son's education and always came to meetings with parents. "Leonard was a loving and sincere student, passionate about music and sports, got average grades in other subjects but was ambitious and a dreamer," says the teacher.

He then successfully competed for the Jordan Misja Arts School, where he studied from 2011 to 2015. Teachers describe him as a well-mannered student and excellent on the accordion instrument.

The director of the school, Valbona Kotepano, says about the former student: "Leonardi was a good and talented student, but in the last year he seemed troubled, he stopped studying and started to spoil his grades, he was often absent."

Even his former friends Ervin Telo and Ariel Koka, both 28 years old, remember Farruk's problems: "After the death of his mother, he no longer had motivation, it was a heavy blow for him"

They say that in recent years they met him in Tirana when he was in financial trouble and dreamed of going abroad.

After his father's death, Nardi had spent some time with his sisters in Italy, where he had tried to find work but had not succeeded. Then he decided to go to England where his two cousins ​​were.

The grounds for Farruk's asylum claim, which is believed to be being considered by the British Home Office at the time of his death, are not known.

Farruk's family members must now wait for the investigation into his death in the hope of getting answers about the deceased./ The Guardian


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