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Salma ElSharkawy begged social services:
‘I wanna go home’ |
TRAGEDY OF AN ‘NW5 RUNAWAY
Parents’ agony after crash death of girl taken into care
THE heartbroken parents of a 12-year-old girl killed in a car crash have blamed themselves for letting Camden’s social services take their daughter away.
Haverstock School pupil Salma ElSharkawy died two weeks ago while in the care of social services when her supervisor’s car smashed into a tree on a shopping trip, killing them both.
An investigation has been launched into events leading up to the death of the girl who called herself “Lil NW5 runaway” on her website.
Her death came after an unhappy final two years in the schoolgirl’s life as she kept running away and sleeping on the streets in a battle to return to her family.
Salma was taken away from her home in Allcroft Road, Gospel Oak, finally ending up in a residential home in Derbyshire, after her mother, Mary O’Sullivan, asked for help in controlling a daughter who had begun to develop behaviour problems.
Her father, Walid ElSharkawy, who was working as a technician for television network Al Jazeera in Qatar in the Middle East at the time, said: “I want to say I’m sorry to Salma. I should have stepped in when her mother needed help.
“We didn’t just lose her for three or four years we lost her forever. Once they’ve got your child you may as well forget it. You’ll never get them back.”
The family lost a court battle to bring Salma back home despite handwritten letters from the schoolgirl to the judge saying: “I think social sevesices are lyers. I wish I could go home to my mum and dad. Know-one knows how I feel etcsept my mum (and) dad. I feel very sad and down. If you don’t say I am not going home my life will be destroyed. Please let me go home.”
In another letter, she begged: “I wanna go home to my mum and dad. I want another assessment please!”
Mr ElSharkawy claims he was not allowed to speak at the first family court hearing, adding: “Salma was an only child. I had quite a lot of money sent from Qatar.
“She was expecting too much from her mum and if her mum didn’t give her things she would hit her. Her mother asked them to help her and the price we paid was my daughter.”
Salma’s mother Mary said: “The council said it was neglect but I did everything for Salma. There was no one to help me. I didn’t go to them so they would take her away from me. I did my best in court but those assessments are very hard for families. They’ve got to learn from this.”
Mr ElSharkawy said the family’s supervised contacts with Salma “were the worst thing you can ever go through”. He added: “Someone writes down everything that happens. If the child’s on the computer, they write the child’s not interested in their parents. The first time I saw her after she was taken away I cried. They wrote ‘he can’t control his feelings’.”
Mr ElSharkawy said social services gave a number of reasons for taking Salma away, among them claims that she had suffered emotional abuse and that she had been forced to watch a man being beheaded on television when she was visiting her father in Qatar.
He said: “I was at work, her mother was in the kitchen and she saw it on the TV. That’s what it’s like there.”
Mr ElSharkawy said that a social worker mistook a water jet hose – used in place of toilet paper in the Middle East – for a sex toy.
He added: “In her website, she called herself Lil NW5 runaway and queenscrescentstar. It’s so difficult to look at. All she wanted was to get back to her family. I wrote on her website before she died saying ‘dad loves you’.”
A report, written by an officer from Gospel Oak social services team, said police were unhappy about repeatedly having to take Salma from friends and family each time she ran away. They feared she would end up sleeping in doorways and stairwells instead.
Mr ElSharkawy said Salma was being changed by the care system. He added: “Since they took her she started to smoke, to talk about sex – she was only 11. In the end she was saved from everybody. She’s now at peace. We’ve been ruined beyond repair.”
Salma’s mother Mary said her daughter called her from the Derbyshire residential centre just before the accident.
She said: “She told me on the phone: ‘Never stop fighting for me, whatever you do.’
“She was happy-go-lucky, kind to others and loved animals. She had two cats, Louis and Charlie. She wanted to be a vet and used to go to Kentish Town City Farm.
“She loved secondary school. She was so happy when she got her uniform, she was very bright. I loved Salma very much.”
Police are piecing together the moments leading up to the accident in which the green Peugeot Salma and her Buxton keyworker were travelling in hit a tree at a notorious accident blackspot in Millers Dale, north Derbyshire.
Salma was buried at the Cemetery of Peace in Ilford on July 7 following a ceremony at Regent’s Park Mosque.
Her friend, Emily Edwards, 16, of Regent’s Park estate, said: “She was the most bubbly girl, always smiling. She would come into school and everyone would be tired and she would be running to her lessons.”
Schoolfriends and family gathered for a memorial service at St Dominic’s Priory in Southampton Road, Gospel Oak, yesterday (Wednesday). One of her favourite songs, Missing You by 1st Lady, was played at the service.
A Camden Council press official said that, at the time of the accident, Salma had been staying in a residential activity centre until she could be placed with a foster family.
The courts had granted a full care order in July last year based on two independent assessments. This was to be reviewed in November following a further assessment.
He added: “We are very saddened to hear of the death of Salma and her key worker. We would like to offer our deepest sympathy to both families at this difficult time.” |
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Children should only be taken into care if they have been proved to have been physically or sexually abused.Taking them for emotional abuse or worse still "risk" of abuse is downright wicked and no jury would tolerate it; only cowardly "establishment" judges who admit to usually "going along" with social services. No emotional abuse can justify breaking up a family, and it is even more absurd to punish parents and their children for "risk",in other words not for anything that has happened but for something that some so called "expert" thinks might happen in the future!The biggest risk a young girl can take is to enter the "care" system and more likely than not end up in prison,on the streets as a prostitute, or DEAD .........
Ian Josephs
I am lost for words, I am ever so grateful to Camden New Journal for this, only Allah can reward you for this favour, you got the little angel's voice heard at last. Thanks so much.
Walid ElSharkawy
This is another of the many examples which proves the local authority pay lip service to keeping families together and do not listen to the child's wishes.They approached social services for help proving they are caring parents seeking some help.This happens so often that I think people should be warned that they can lose their children if they approach the authorities.
There are so many heartbroken families who come to seek advice and help from the website www.fassit.co.uk as social services are putting more money into wrecking their families instead of offering the support that claim they offer.
Wendy Johnson
The sad truth is that this young lady is one of many thousands of children ripped from loving homes -because the parents asked for help- in good faith.
Because the SS Anti Love Squad are allowed so much abuse of power- this is allowed to continue.
A social worker has more power than Gordon in No 10- but how many know this??
I salute this paper for writing truth- but they had to wait for this child to die before being allowed to report on it.
This is not democracy at all and free speech is an illusion.
Even the judge did nothing.
Salma is at home now- but her spirit is still here and it will not rest till Justice is done for her.
We need to hear the voices of the children in the open and not intimidated and threatened by social workers.
Catherine Sara
Another case of the dreaded SS. I thought Hitler was dead.
Calvin Edgar Morgan |
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