An asylum seeker who spent eight days locked in a lorry container
died from blood poisoning five days after she arrived in Kent, an inquest
has heard.
Elmas Ozmico, 40, claimed asylum in July 2003 after travelling from Turkey
with her two children and nephew.
The inquest heard that Mrs Ozmico had planned to join her husband in the UK.
The coroner was told she became ill over a few days and complained she was
unwell when detained at Dover, but had to wait 12 hours to see a doctor.
When she collapsed, she was taken to the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
where she underwent three operations, but died on 13 July.
Her husband wept as he told the jury that when he saw his wife in hospital
for the first time in five years she could not even speak to him.
Her family have travelled to Dover to give evidence at the hearing, which
is expected to last three weeks.
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Published: 2005/05/03 19:22:47 GMT, © BBC MMV
Immigration staff let woman die, jury told
Dover officials ignored Kurdish mother's calls for medics after eight-day
ordeal in back of lorry, nephew says at inquest
Laura Smith, Wednesday May 4, 2005, Guardian
Immigration officials at Dover ignored repeated pleas for a doctor by a Kurdish
asylum seeker from Turkey, who had fallen ill during her eight-day journey
to Britain in the back of a lorry, an inquest heard yesterday.
Elmas Ozmico, 40, had collapsed but was not taken to hospital until 19 hours
after she had arrived at the port. She died four days later from what is thought
to be septicaemia, caused by an abscess on her upper thigh.
Her nephew, Emurallah Sanci, who travelled with her, told the inquest jury:
"They could see she couldn't walk and couldn't sit properly. She kept
putting her hand on the area where she had a wound. I asked for a doctor,
but they didn't speak to me or go over to where my aunt was."
Ozmico arrived at Dover in July 2003 after travelling for nearly two weeks
from Turkey with her daughter, Aysenur, and son, Mehmet, then aged eight and
seven, respectively, and her nephew. She hoped to join her husband, Haci Pekkelo,
who had lived in the UK for five years and had exceptional leave to remain.
The inquest heard that the family, from Gaziantep, Anatolia, in south-eastern
Turkey, had spent eight days travelling from Istanbul to Dover in the back
of a lorry.
Speaking via an interpreter, her 21-year-old nephew told the jury that his
aunt began to fall ill after three or four days in the lorry, and her condition
"worsened by the hour".
He said: "She kept saying that she was very ill and that she may die.
She had red eyes and her skin was pale and yellowish. She was tired and lethargic,
and she walked as if she had a limp. She couldn't eat."
Mr Sanci said there were 20 people in a 15 sq m (165 sq ft) space in the back
of the lorry, which he thought was carrying pieces of iron. He said it was
dark and uncomfortable. "We would stop at night and go to wooded areas
for our toilet needs. We couldn't go out during the day because we were illegals.
[The driver] said if they were caught that would be the end of their lives."
By the time the group arrived at Dover at around 10pm on July 8, his aunt's
condition had worsened considerably. "Her voice was very faint,"
he said. "She was very weak and her abdomen was swollen."
Within 10 minutes of their arrival, he said he asked immigration staff for
a doctor, by using the English word, and for an interpreter, but was ignored.
Further requests for medical help also went unanswered.
After spending the night in the detention centre, Ozmico told staff she had
a wound. But it was not until she collapsed at around 5pm that she was taken
to the William Harvey hospital in Ashford, where she underwent two operations.
She died there four days later.
The jury heard that before his aunt died, Mr Sanci was transferred to a detention
centre in Oxford. He said: "She told me to tell her father to forgive
her. She was getting worse as time went past and she couldn't imagine herself
to be saved because no one was helping her."
Mr Sanci has since been given permission to stay and lives with his brother
in Bath.
The inquest, which is being held at a community centre in Dover, was delayed,
due to problems in finding a venue large enough. There are seven parties represented
at the inquest: the family, the Dover detention centre, police, the immigration
service, the hospital, the Migrant Helpline and the medical inspector at the
port. The hearing is expected to take two weeks.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005