The Guardian: The tragedy of Albanian musician whose dream was cut off on England's asylum seekers ship

Six months before he was found dead in the floating refugee residence of Bibby Stockholm, Leonard Farcuk hoped for the creation of a new life in England.

I came to England in August 2022. I hope to get the papers because I'm in a nursing facility. I came with a gomone,” wrote the Albanian youth in a message for a childhood friend in Tirana.

Her mother had died when she was 17 years old, and Dad had died some years later.

My mother's loss and then my father traumad me, I didn't know where I was or what was happening. Now I'm here looking for asylum, living in a hotel, God protect us from”, he wrote.

The 27-year-old is believed to have killed himself in the bathroom of the contested refugee boat, where hundreds of asylum seekers take refuge on Britain's southern coast.

“Albanian asylum seeker died on England's hotel ship, financial impossible “to return body to Albania
He was seen in a troubled state the day he was then found dead.

Friends and family members still ask what prompted Farcuk to perform such an act, while no one felt that the ambitious accordion musician with a seemingly promising future would kill himself.

We miss Leonard very much, we'll always be sad about the way he ended his life”, says his sister Jola Dushku, 33, who lives in Lombardi, Italy.

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

They described him as a hardworking boy who dreamed of becoming a musician, but shocked by the premature death of his mother when he was in the Artistic Lake Jordan Misya, in Tirana.

After Father's death a few years later Farcuk, also known as Nardi, began thinking about going to England until he performed the dangerous sea of strait with France in 2022, the year when a record 12,301 Albanians came to small boats to seek asylum in England.

Speaking from a poor area in the suburbs of Tirana, where Farcu lived, his uncle Agron Farkulu tells of the pain.

“Leonard went to work legally in England, he was ambitious, he wanted work and money, he wanted a normal life”

Officials in England say the Albanian had been granted employment permission several days before the tragedy, but he had not yet received the news.

The 57-year-old uncle says Farfuk said 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 immigrant?

“had told the sister that the conditions on the boat were good but that she was treated badly and wanted more freedom, complained that officials treated her as a criminal”.

Born on January 29th 1996, Farcuk was founded in Vorea in the suburbs of Tirana, with Shkushije mother, and his father, the renowned clarinete 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 as Nardi went to the folk school Bajram Curri. They lived in a small prefabric apartment in cold conditions.

Lindita Feyzo, former master of Farku's language, says Father Petri was interested in his son's education and always came to parental meetings. “Leonard was a loving and sincere student, passionate about music and sports, received average grades in other subjects, but he was ambitious and dreamative,” says the teacher.

He then competed successfully for the Jordan Misya arts school, where he studied between 2011 and 2015. Teachers describe him as a kind and excellent student in the accordion's tool.

School principal Valbona Kotepano says of former student: “Leonard was a good student and a talented man, but last year he seemed troubled, stopped studying, and began to break down his grades, often lacking”.

Even former friends Ervin Telo and Ariel Coca, both 28 years old, remember Farlu's problems: “After Mother's death was no longer motivated, it was a serious blow to him”

They say they had met him in Tirana in recent years while in financial trouble and dreamed of going abroad.

After Dad's death, Nardi had been with the sisters in Italy trying to find work but had failed. Then he decided to go to England, where two of his cousins were.

There are no reasons for the asylum request Farfuk applied, which is believed to have been considered by the British interior ministry at the time of death.

Farduk's family must now wait for the investigation into his death in hopes of receiving answers for the deceased. /The Guardian