A wide embrace and deep feelings of a migrant's paper cutout found in the pocket of an illegal Arab migrant who drowned in the sea, not reaching European shores in Spain. This finding was uncovered by an activist from Spain working in a center for illegal migrants on the Spanish coast.
The cutout contained verses from the Quran about the story of Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale in the sea, but thanks to prayer was saved. He recorded: "I [was returned] to Zul-Nun, who had gone to the depths of his heart! He judged that we would never be able to attain [heaven]. Then he cried out in the darkness: 'There is no deity besides You! Glory be to You! I have indeed been unjust!' (87) But we immediately responded to his plea and saved him from distress. Likewise, we save the believers (88)."
It is unknown whether this migrant wrote this excerpt before boarding the boat or while floating, which seems to have ended tragically. One of the aspects that exacerbated the grief surrounding this case - a piece of clothing from the cutout, a photograph of which a Spanish activist shared online, hoping that the family would find it.
Bloggers widely discussed this event, expressing anger about the migrant’s fate, who seems to have drowned in the sea, leaving his plea before his Lord as a testimony of hard moments he had to endure at sea before death.
One of the bloggers wrote, touched by this story: "The boats are torn apart at the heart from the grief. Lord, forgive them, have mercy on them, for You are Merciful and Magnanimous." Another added: "May the Lord have mercy on them and grant them heavenly happiness. Young people, in search of a better life, lose their lives at sea in pursuit of a better life, but the fate was already predetermined."
