A REFUGEE said that desperate asylum-seekers who “throw themselves at death” would not be deterred by border security from escaping ravaged homelands.

Fadi Hamwi, who fled to Libya from Syria as a toddler, spoke of his own terrifying ordeal growing up in Libya, where he said he was shot at many times by the Libyan militia following the collapse of the Gadaffi regime because of his perceived disloyalty.

He said: “I was scared all the time, I was very cautious, very careful and very worried.”

Mr Hamwi, whose name has been changed so as not to prejudice his outstanding asylum claim, described his harrowing journey to “safety,” surviving a horrific boat trip and 28 hours in the back of a lorry.

He had paid a smuggler £655 for a boat journey to Italy in June last year, along with 1,200 people from Syria, Eritrea and sub-Saharan countries, on a vessel built for 500.

The “captain” of the boat, which was lost at sea for 23 hours before the Italian navy rescued it, was a migrant who was given free passage.

He added: “We were thinking ‘where are we going, we are actually committing suicide, are we going to arrive or not, we could get lost at sea’.”

Forty-seven people died from suffocation and engine burns while travelling in the hold. He said they were beaten and had their legs tied to their chests to make more space.

Mr Hamwi continued: “My experience was the easiest one compared to others. Other people are more desperate, they are throwing themselves at death.”