Candlelit vigil in Chichester pays tribute to Albanian asylum seeker who died aboard Bibby Stockholm

Organised by Chichester Welcomes Refugees and taking place at the Market Cross on January 14 from 3.30pm. Those who took part lit candles in Farruku’s honour and place them on the Market Cross in his memory. There was singing, moments of reflection, and several speeches by Chichester Welcomes Refugees members calling for greater compassion for and recognition of asylum seekers across the UK, as well as all those who lost their lives in the often dangerous task of escaping their home countries.

Farruku was found dead by his roommate and is believed to have taken his own life, although a Home Office spokesperson told the BBC last week that the death was a “tragic accident,” which is now being investigated by the police and the coroner. They added that there are “rigorous safeguarding processes in place,” aboard the accommodation barge.

The barge, which was intended to provide a cheaper alternative to hotel accommodation for asylum seekers, has been docked in Portland Port, Dorset, since last year, and earned comparisons to a prison from a number of humanitarian charities who have since campaigned for its closure.

Speaking to those who attended Chichester’s candlelit vigil, it is clear they saw Farruku’s death as a symptom of bigger problems and a sign of things to come. “There have been a lot of mental health crises on board,” one Chichester Welcomes Refugees member, Paul, said. “This is not an outlying case. From out point of view, what this thing is is a concentration camp. And the fact that it floats doesn’t change things in anyway whatsoever.”

"Over the last two weeks, we’ve formed an organisation across the South Coast alongside the people of Stand Up to Racism, and our first project is to close the Biddy Stockholm. We know it will close, but it’s a question of how many people die or become traumatised beyond recovery before then.”

The vigil comes after last year’s news that The Chichester Park Hotel had been converted into emergency accommodation for Asylum Seekers, prompting a series of protests and counter-protests which have continued into the new year. Those involved with last week’s vigil say they hope it inspires an attitude of reflective compassion amongst those who have continued to protest the presence of asylum seekers in the city.

"I just feel that asylum seekers and refugees and migrants generally in the UK are treated so appallingly that I wanted to stand up for them,” one attendant, Kitty Grove said.

Another attendant, Jan Davis, added: “We have to keep people aware of what’s going on. Despite the fact that it comes on the news every day, that it appears in the papers every day, no one does anything real about it. This is a demonstration of something that is lacking more and more in Britain. And that’s compassion, it’s empathy. Everything now is so hateful and extreme. We have to demonstrate that there’s still some compassion left.”