12 Year Old Somali Refugee allegedly drowned to death in the UK
eople around the world are demanding further investigation into the death of Shukri Abdi, a 12-year-old Somali refugee who drowned in River Irwell in Greater Manchester in June last year.
Initially, police treated her death as a “tragic incident” not believing there were any suspicious circumstances. They claimed that Shukri had visited the river to “cool off” with her friends.
However, her family quickly dismissed such claims as Shukri didn’t know how to swim and she had no reason to be at the river. Shukri had long been a victim to relentless school bullying and her family believed her death was related.
Her family claim that the police failed to carry out a full proper investigation and treated them differently due to their ethnicity. Shukri’s mother Zam Zam Ture also suggested police were “not sympathetic” when informing her of her daughter’s death. She alleges police had dealt with her “harshly” and somewhat indifferent to her case.
Her family also expressed their disappointment with Shukri’s school, Broad Oak Sports College, in addressing the bullying taking place in the lead up to the incident. The school had long been the centre of controversy and recently underwent a rebranding and changed its name to Hazel Wood High School.
Shukri’s classmates and those that knew her have since spoken publicly on the severity of the bullying Shukri experienced while at school.
Following extensive protests throughout UK, the family eventually won the right to a proper inquiry into the case. The inquest which is currently still in progress heard how one of the children in question laughed as Shukri drowned. It was also alleged that one child also threatened to “kill” Shukri if she refused to go into the water.
Shukri came to UK with her family as a refugee from Somalia in 2017.
A petition has since been launched to garner support for Shukri Abdi and help establish justice.
