ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The body of 33-year-old Bashdar Hassan, a Kurdistan Region native who was shot and killed last month in northern France’s Dunkirk refugee camp, was returned home Thursday.
“He had been in that jungle for two years, constantly saying ‘Mother, I’m coming back,’” his mother, Rahmat Mustafa, said through tears. “I was waiting and preparing the house for the month he was supposed to return.”
The Dunkirk camp, located on France’s northern coast, is a well-known gathering point for people attempting to cross to the UK by boat. Many engage in informal trade or smuggling to sustain themselves.
Hassan, who was married and had a five-year-old son, had been in France for two years and six months.
“He had decided to come back in another two months, but they didn’t let him and burned our hearts,” said his sister, Amira Hassan.
Hassan was killed on July 27 in what his family says was a planned attack linked to an old dispute with three other people also from the Kurdistan Region. The disagreement had previously been resolved, according to relatives.
“They had a dispute with my brother Hassan, but later they reconciled and people witnessed it. However, later they killed him by plan and cowardice from behind. When I examined his body, there were seven bullets in it. Three people shot him, all three of whom are from Ranya and their names are known to us,” said Hassan’s brother Abdullah Hassan.
French media reported the shooting at the time, saying that the victim was hit multiple times. The Dunkirk public prosecutor’s office has opened a homicide investigation.
The family said legal complaints have been filed against the accused in both Kurdistan and France.
In December, a shooting spree in the Dunkirk area killed five people, including two Kurds from Iran’s western Kurdish areas (Rojhelat) who sought to cross the English Channel.
Thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take perilous routes to Europe every year in hopes of escaping endless crises, including unemployment, political instability, a fragile economy, and rampant corruption.
The UK is a popular destination for many, but crossing the English Channel is dangerous and can be deadly.
