"I've been in the UK since August 2022. Hopefully I can get my papers because now I'm in [a facility for] asylum seekers. I came on a rubber boat," the young Albanian said in an Instagram message to an old primary school friend in Tirana, his home country's capital.
His mother had died when he was 17 and his father a few years later. "Losing my mother and father very suddenly traumatised me. I didn't know where I was or what was happening. I'm seeking asylum now. I live in a hotel. I hope God will protect us," he wrote.
Farruku, 27, is thought to have killed himself in a shower room on the barge housing hundreds of asylum seekers off Britain's south coast. He had appeared to be in distress shortly before he was found dead on 12 December last year.
His family and friends still have questions about what drove Farruku, formerly an ambitious and gifted accordion player with a seemingly promising future, to take his own life.
"We will miss Leonard a lot. We will be forever heartbroken for the way he gave an end to his life," said his sister Jola Dushku, 33, who lives in Lombardy, Italy.
Denne historien er fra February 06, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra February 06, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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