‘Our parents did not come to this country to bury their children’

A statement from the family of Habib Ullah, who died following arrest by police

It has now been almost nine months since Habib/Paps, our brother died in High Wycombe whilst being arrested during a routine drugs search.  No one knows what we have gone through during those months.

It has been so difficult and painful for our mother, Hamida and his wife Mussarat and their three children. Mum has aged ten years and has lost weight and has suffered from depression like all of us. For her and Mussarat the loss has been difficult to understand especially as English is not their first language – their view of the Police and authority in general has irrevocably changed due to this experience. Mum was always very close to Paps whilst the rest of us were close to our dad who passed away a few years back.

It has been tremendously hard on the children and it was so sad seeing them write a card to their father and giving this in to the Police Station in High Wycombe on the day of what would have been his 40th birthday. They too have struggled to understand what has happened and are still coming to terms with the loss of their dad.

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Posted by Zinzi Eka-Naphtali on 01/05/2009. Filed under Custody Deaths,Race & Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.