On a cold spring day last month, Mohsen, a 36-year-old from Iran, woke before dawn and was hurried by smugglers onto a rubber boat on the coast of France.
The water was calm and the sky clear, but he knew the risks of the journey he was about to make, he said.
Since 2018, at least 72 people have drowned in the Channel while attempting crossings, according to the International Organization for Migration.
He fled Iran, he said, because police officers came to his home last year threatening to arrest him after he took part in anti-government protests.
And he boarded the boat even though he knew about the British government’s plan to deport some asylum seekers to the central African country of Rwanda, which was first announced in 2022.
Persons:
Mohsen
Organizations:
Channel, International Organization for Migration
Locations:
Iran, France, Britain, Rwanda