Akkad, 23, arrived in the UK in 2015 from Syria as a refugee – documenting his journey for the BBC film Exodus: Our Journey to Europe which went on to win a BAFTA for Best Factual Series.
Akkad, 23, arrived in the UK in 2015 from Syria as a refugee – documenting his journey for the BBC film Exodus: Our Journey to Europe which went on to win a BAFTA for Best Factual Series.
Hassan Akkad, a BAFTA-winning Syrian filmmaker in London, has become the latest selfless individual to help in the cause against the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world. In a now viral tweet, Akkad explained that after fleeing Syria’s civil war and arriving in the UK, the least he could do was to help give back to the heroic NHS service in any way that he could.
Honoured to join an army of cleaners disinfecting Covid wards our local hospital after receiving training. London has been my home since leaving Syria, and the least I can do is making sure my neighbours and the amazing NHS staff are safe and sound. #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/7XkBwSiXW8
— Hassan Akkad حسان عقاد (@hassan_akkad) April 7, 2020
The UK remains one of the worst-hit countries from COVID-19 – according to the World Health Organization, the UK has almost 61,000 cases with over 7,000 deaths. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, Akkad made the selfless decision to volunteer with the NHS, helping clean the wards in the effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Akkad emphasized the dire importance of the NHS, as well as the fact that the diversity of the people who make up the NHS was also one of its greatest strengths:
The nurses and the ward hosts and the cleaners and the porters are the spine of the hospital, and they are from everywhere – the Caribbean, Chad, the Philippines, Spain, Poland. I hope if this teaches us one thing, it teaches us to be kinder to one another despite where we come from. I hope this changes us for the best.”
Akkad, 23, arrived in the UK in 2015 from Syria as a refugee – documenting his journey for the BBC film Exodus: Our Journey to Europe which went on to win a BAFTA for Best Factual Series. During his acceptance speech after winning the award, Akkad spoke of the dire situation of refugees in this world today:
Exodus: Our Journey to Europe was my yesterday but it is somebody else’s today and tomorrow. Since we have made this documentary, over 10,000 people have died trying to seek refuge in Europe. They are not just numbers, they are not just facts and statistics; they are husbands and wives and fathers and mothers and children; and they – this goes to them. It goes to the untold stories.”
Akkad, in a selfless act during the UK’s almost unprecedented crisis with COVID-19, has proudly dedicated his time and his safety to helping his hospital during the pandemic. From an English teacher in Syria to being a refugee, to winning a BAFTA award and to now becoming a cleaner for the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, Akkad continues to inspire us all.
