Hassan Akkad
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Hassan Akkad () is a British writer, filmmaker and human rights activist originally from Syria.


Life


Syria

He is originally from
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, and worked as an English teacher and photographer. In 2011, as protests in Syria against the government of
Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
grew, he joined in and filmed the demonstrations. In response to his taking part, the authorities arrested and beat him twice. After his first period of incarceration, al-Assad invited him to have a conversation, where Akkad told him "about the systemic torture of his ssad'sregime".


Moving to the UK

In September 2015, he fled Syria and arrived in the UK, a journey which took 87 days. He travelled via Turkey and the Calais Jungle, before using a fake passport to fly to
Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
, where he claimed
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
. He first lived in
Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...
for two months, before moving into a spare room in
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
. Since arriving in the UK, he has worked in TV and film production, and has also worked doing marketing for a refugee charity. Akkad filmed his journey to the UK, and this footage was used in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
documentary, Exodus: Our Journey to Europe which won the BAFTA award for Best Factual Series or Strand in 2017. Akkad raised the issue of how many refugees had died trying to enter Europe when invited to join director
James Bluemel James Bluemel is a television documentary filmmaker. Career The first programme he directed was the three-part documentary ''The Romanians are Coming'', screened on Channel 4 between 17 February and 3 March 2015. Bluemel visited Baia Mare, a town ...
at his acceptance speech. In July 2020, he worked with
Marc Quinn Marc Quinn (born 8 January 1964) is a British contemporary visual artist whose work includes sculpture, installation, and painting. Quinn explores "what it is to be human in the world today" through subjects including the body, genetics, ident ...
in creating and installing the statue ''
A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 ''A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020'' is a 2020 black resin sculpture, sculpted by Marc Quinn and modelled on Jen Reid; both Quinn and Reid are credited as artists. It depicts Reid, a black female protester, raising her arm in a Black Power sa ...
'' to replace the one of
Edward Colston Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, slave trader, philanthropist, and Tory Member of Parliament. Colston followed his father in the family business becoming a sea merchant, initially trading in wine ...
in Bristol.


Coronavirus

Following the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the UK The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
, he started working as a
cleaner A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning oper ...
for the NHS at
Whipps Cross Hospital Whipps Cross University Hospital is a large university hospital in the locality of Whipps Cross in Leytonstone and is within Epping Forest in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, London, England. It is managed by Barts Health NHS Trust. Histo ...
in
East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. While working in the hospital, he took photos of his colleagues, which were published on the ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' website. Akkad stated that "everyone e worked withfelt completely betrayed, ndstabbed in the back" in response to the government announcing that NHS cleaners and porters wouldn't be included in an NHS bereavement scheme if they die due to coronavirus, and that immigrant NHS workers would still have to pay a £400
immigration health surcharge The immigration health surcharge was introduced by the Cameron–Clegg coalition by the Immigration (Health Charge) Order 2015, made under the provisions of the Immigration Act 2014, to deal with the issue of medical tourism involving the NHS in E ...
. In response, he filmed a message to UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, which he published on Twitter, explaining that he was "shocked to find out that your Government decided to exclude myself and my colleagues who work as cleaners and porters and social care workers rom the scheme... so if I die from coronavirus my partner isn’t allowed indefinite leave to remain". Following this video, the government made a
U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a m ...
, and included these workers in the bereavement scheme. ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' argued that this video was "directly instrumental in another of the prime minister’s mumbled U-turns the following day", and British ''Vogue'' described how he then appeared on '' Good Morning Britain'', and on newspaper front pages, due to this video. Akkad stated that although he appreciates the Clap for Our Carers events, as they have made communities closer, he "cringe when he sees government members clapping, due to their handling of the pandemic. In an interview in August 2020, he explained that having experienced authoritarianism in Syria, he was becoming worried about "the creeping authoritarianism
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
is quite vivid here now", pointing out the "contracts going to government cronies; politicians breaking the rules and not facing consequences; this delusional democracy where people are lied to, and vote for the liars". He has started writing a memoir, which will be published in 2021 by
Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a publishing imprint (trade name), imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the United Kingdom, British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books b ...
.


Personal life

He was engaged to a Syrian woman he met in the UK, who was there as a student and whose home in Damascus was bombed. They have since split up. His family also left Syria: his parents now live in the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, and his brother works for the
World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
in Yemen. In September 2022, Akkad was naturalized as a British citizen.https://twitter.com/hassan_akkad/status/1572570162221699072


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akkad, Hassan Living people 21st-century British memoirists Syrian refugees BAFTA winners (people) Writers from Damascus Syrian photographers Syrian emigrants to the United Kingdom Teachers of English as a second or foreign language National Health Service people Labour Party (UK) people People from Riyadh Year of birth missing (living people)