Belgium reportedly denied Ahmed Alhashimi asylum by arguing that Basra, his hometown in Iraq, was classified as a safe area. He said his children spent the last seven years staying with a relative in Sweden, but that he was recently informed that they would be deported, with him, to Iraq.

“If I knew there was a 1% chance that I could keep the kids in Belgium or France or Sweden or Finland I would keep them there. All I wanted was for my kids to go to school. I didn’t want any assistance. My wife and I can work. I just wanted to protect them and their childhoods and their dignity,” he continued.

Eva Jonsson, Sara’s teacher in Uddevalla, Sweden, described the seven-year-old as “kind and nice”.

“She had a lot of friends in the school. They played together all the time… In February we heard she would be deported and that it would happen quickly. We had two days’ notice,” she said.

After learning of her death, the class gathered in a circle and held a minute’s silence.

“It’s very unfortunate that it happens to such a nice family. I have taught [other] children in that family, and I was really shocked about the deportation,” said the teacher.

“We have Sara’s picture in front of us still, and we will keep it there as long as the children want.”