My name is Thawab* and I am from Baghdad in Iraq. My husband and I are both electrical engineers and we have two sons, aged three and eight.

Life in Iraq has been difficult for a long time – first there was the war and now there are lots of dangerous militias on the streets. My husband was kidnapped and tortured, but he was lucky and he managed to escape. He was bedridden for several months before going back to work at a hospital in Iraq. One day, one of the militias contacted him to demand free electricity and also money that was used for the hospital, but my husband is a good and honest man and so he refused. The militia then smashed up his car and threatened to hurt our children and me if he didn’t give in. That was when we decided to leave.

I was 35 weeks pregnant when we left for Europe. We paid $3,000 each to a people smuggler for a place in what he described as a large and extremely safe boat, but when we saw the boat it was very old and wooden. There were around 300 of us who had paid to travel on it – some people were scared to leave on such a ship, but they were forced to get on. Shortly after we left Turkish shores, a little boat came up alongside us and hit us; a few minutes later, there was a loud creaking sound and the boat fell apart.

I was 35 weeks pregnant when we decided to leave Iraq for Europe

When we were in the water, I found a life ring and I managed to keep our family together. Others, however, were not so lucky – I saw many people drown, including three disabled children, and I could feel bodies in the water brushing against my skin. After several hours, we were rescued and brought to shore in Lesvos where we discovered that some people had lost their entire families.

We stayed the night at a volunteer’s house and I was incredibly worried about my unborn baby; when I finally felt him kick, I was so happy. Volunteers and the UNHCR then arranged for us to be fast-tracked through the registration process in Lesvos so we left really quickly. We travelled for a further five days and everyone helped us because my sons are so young and I was so pregnant. I had a horrible experience in Slovenia, though: the police there were very violent towards the refugees and didn’t care if people were sick or old or tired. They split me up from my husband and one of my sons and I had to wait for them on the Austrian side of the border for seven hours. I was so scared I wouldn’t find them again but we were eventually reunited. I am now in Germany and I have just had a baby boy.

I am very happy to welcome him to the world. I just want to be safe with my family and for my children to have a peaceful future.

*Name has been changed. Story told to Peggy Whitfield from Starfish