Teenage Somali refugee recounts her treacherous journey to the UK – including seven DAYS at sea during which she saw her best friend drown

  • Mariam, 18, fled Somalia following death threats from an Islamic terrorist group
  • She made it to Egypt before embarking on a treacherous journey to the UK
  • It took seven days by boat - which capsized before it reached safe waters
  • Teenager witnessed her best friend drown before she was rescued in Italy
  • Mariam, who left her family behind, has been granted leave to remain in the UK

A teenage girl forced to leave her family behind and flee Somalia aged just 14 after being threatened by terrorists recounted her treacherous journey to the UK in a heartbreaking documentary.   

Fearing for her life after she was accused by the Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab of touching a man's hand out of wedlock, Mariam, 18, who spoke to Channel 4 cameras for the documentary Britain's Refugee Children, told how she escaped to Egypt, where she remained for four years. 

At 18, she paid traffickers to help her make the treacherous trip across the Mediterranean to Europe by boat, as one of 90 people crammed onto the vessel, which capsized after seven days at sea.

Mariam, who was finally rescued off the coast of Italy, told how she had watched her best friend drown as the exhausted refugees attempted to swim for shore - prompting tearful viewers to praise her courage on Twitter.  

The programme Britain's Refugee Children sought to highlight the plight of the young who are fleeing war-torn countries like Syria, some of whom make the journey with their families, many of whom arrive alone.  

Mariam, 18, received death threats from the Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab for allegedly touching a man's hand out of wedlock 

Mariam, 18, received death threats from the Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab for allegedly touching a man's hand out of wedlock 

The show followed children arriving in Wales, which has been at the vanguard of British efforts to help the refugee crisis, with every local authority volunteering to take in asylum seekers. 

Mariam is still traumatised after witnessing the death of her best friend, who struggled to swim in choppy waters when their boat capsized.   

Mariam was rescued after being spotted in Italian seas by a passing helicopter, and she was picked up by a boat and taken to a hospital by a local couple where she recovered.

There she met another trafficker who helped her to make it to the UK, where she immediately applied for refugee status - but faced a near year-long wait before she was granted permission to remain.

Viewers were 'in tears' as Mariam told her story, with one calling the particpants 'courageous' for telling their stories

Viewers were 'in tears' as Mariam told her story, with one calling the particpants 'courageous' for telling their stories

Mariam asked that her identity be hidden in the documentary, for fear it could lead to repercussions for her family at home in Somalia. 

She recalled how a member of the group had accused her of touching another man out of wedlock, after she went shopping for food at a local market and handed over her money - briefly making contact with the male shop assistant. 

'They told me I was "bad", and they say ''we have to kill you'',' she said.

Under the threat of execution she fled Somalia aged just 14 and made it to Egypt, from there she travelled by boat four years later to Europe.

Recounting the journey, she said: 'There were 90 people. And we were in the sea seven days. 

'Some people they died with hunger, some people they died with needing drinking water.

Mariam, who kept her face hidden, said women were treated like 'animals' in Somalia. Paying traffickers to help, she then faced a treacherous trip across the Mediterranean Sea in a boat to make it to Europe

Mariam, who kept her face hidden, said women were treated like 'animals' in Somalia. Paying traffickers to help, she then faced a treacherous trip across the Mediterranean Sea in a boat to make it to Europe

'Between Italy and Egypt, the boat is broken. I am in the middle of the sea. I can't see any house or trees.' 

Mariam wept as she remembered her last moments on the boat: 'I lose that day my best friend. She died when we started to swim.

'That time we are three persons, and I am so tired. I try to swim again, again, again. And I say ''Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up''.'

Following her rescue in Naples, in the documentary Mariam said she had spent over ten months waiting for an answer from the Home Office about her refugee status.  

The Home Office initially rejected 68 per cent asylum applications last year - the highest percent of rejections in Europe, double that of Spain, Germany, Sweden, Austria or Holland.

She was given  support from Maria, a personal adviser with Cardiff's children's services

She was given  support from Maria, a personal adviser with Cardiff's children's services

While she waited she had support from Maria, a personal adviser with Cardiff's children's services.

'The challenges we find for them are that they are absolutely petrified,' Maria said. 

'They miss their family and they don't know where their mother is and they don't know where their father is, they all mention siblings. 

'It's very sad, they are here in the UK alone.'

At the end of the documentary Maria was able to deliver the good news that Mariam had been granted permission to remain in the UK.

'Yesterday I am so worried and today I am so happy. Now I will be staying in the UK and I will say thank you,' Mariam said, sobbing.

The documentary left viewers in tears, with one tweeting: 'Close to tears a few times watching this. So courageous of the young people-especially the unaccompanied young people to take part.'

Another posted: 'What a poignant programme! & a reminder to us all to look after each other, be open minded & empathic.'  

'During what is a really ugly week, Channel 4 right now is serving up a well needed dose of humanity,' a third agreed.

Britain's Refugee Children is available to watch on All4

Key developments in Europe's migration crisis

A massive influx of migrants to Europe over the past few years has left thousands drowned and caused deep tensions between nations over how to handle the huge number of arrivals. Here is a look back over the main developments since 2011.

2011 to 2014: Surge with Syria at war

The surge in migrant numbers starts in 2011 and steadily increases until 2014 when 280,000 arrive, four times more than the previous year. Most land in Italy and Greece.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says more than 3,500 people, fleeing war and misery, died at sea in 2014 alone, mainly in the central Mediterranean.

The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, leads to a massive exodus of people, mostly to camps in neighbouring countries.

The UNHCR says in October 2014 that just over 144,630 Syrians had requested asylum in the EU since 2011, with Germany and Sweden shouldering the burden.

It says in June 2014 that 2.5 million people had fled Syria. By April 2018 this figure is at more than 5.6 million, according to the UNHCR website.

2015: More than one million migrants

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says 1,047,000 migrants arrived by sea in Europe in 2015, of whom around 854,000 went to Greece and 154,000 to Italy.

The increase is due to the raging Syrian conflict and a deterioration in living conditions in refugee camps.

On April 19, 2015 the worst Mediterranean disaster in decades takes place when up to 800 people, mainly from West Africa, die after their crammed fishing boat capsizes in Libyan waters.

In 2015 nearly 3,800 deaths at sea are registered by the UNHCR.

The war in Syria is credited with kick-starting a wave of migrant movement towards Europe

The war in Syria is credited with kick-starting a wave of migrant movement towards Europe

In late summer of 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel decides to open Germany's borders to migrants. Some 890,000 arrive over the year and she comes under strong criticism from many of her EU partners.

Central and eastern EU nations such as Hungary and Poland refuse outright or resist taking in refugees under an EU quota system.

At bursting point, Germany reestablishes border checks, suspending free movement in the EU. Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, all transit countries, follow suit.

Hungary and Slovenia, the main entry points to the passport-free Schengen zone, put up fences.

Asylum demands peak with 1.26 million demands in the EU in 2015.

2016: Accord with Turkey

The EU and Turkey sign a controversial deal in 2016 aimed at stemming the migrant flow to the Aegean Greek islands.

Combined with the closure of the so-called Balkans route, the flow drops sharply as Turkey boosts its coastal patrols.

Arrivals in Europe fall in 2016 to 390,000, according to the IOM.

2017: Italy on the frontline

As the route via Greece and Turkey dries up, Libya becomes the main migration route and Italy the main entry point to Europe.

The trend is reversed radically from July 2017 due to accords struck by Rome with the Libyan authorities and militias.

After these accords, which involve support to the Libyan coastguards, the number of arrivals in Italy drops by more than 75 percent.

2018: Political crisis in EU

In Italy, which has seen around 700,000 migrants arrive since 2013, an anti-migrant coalition including the far right is sworn in to government in June.

It refuses to allow the Aquarius rescue ship carrying 630 migrants to dock on its shores; the migrants are taken in by Spain on June 17, after a turbulent week at sea.

The case leads to political recriminations and heightened tensions within the EU, particularly between Rome and Paris.

In Germany, hardliners in Merkel's conservative bloc on June 18 give her an ultimatum to tighten asylum rules or risk pitching Germany into a political crisis that would also rattle Europe. 

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