I'd rather die than go back
Sep 21 2006
EXCLUSIVE by Adrian Butler, Liverpool Echo
A FAILED asylum seeker found hanged left a note saying: "I can't go back. I'd rather die."
Engineer Abiy Abebe was found dead in Liverpool just hours after his application was rejected.
Liverpool coroner Andre Rebello told an inquest into the 35-year-old's death it was "more likely than not" he had killed himself.
Today his family spoke of their horror at his death on July 5.
Story continues
Brother-in-law Abera Tessema, who flew over from America for yesterday's inquest, said: "Abiy's sister can't handle it anymore.
"She can't accept what's happened - she will just burst into tears three times a day."
In his letter, Mr Abebe writes of his fear at returning to his old workplace after they found out he had been trying to get into Britain.
He had taken leave from his job with the roads authority in Ethiopia to try to get into Britain, not telling them what he was doing.
The engineer claimed staff at the British Embassy in Ethiopean capital Addis Ababa had told a colleague about his claim.
His note added: "When I get back everyone will know everything about me."
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