An Iraqi refugee who came to Australia as a six-year-old has been identified as the boy who drowned at Chipping Norton Lake last Sunday afternoon.
An Iraqi refugee who came to Australia as a six-year-old has been identified as the boy who drowned at Chipping Norton Lake last Sunday afternoon.
Anwar Wissam Latif, 14, was walking with two friends around the rocks of the lake in Western Sydney before he slipped and fell into the water.
The young teen’s family said one of the other boys had also fallen in at the same time as Anwar, leaving the third member of the group to try and save them both from drowning as neither of them could swim and struggled to stay afloat.
“We’re going through a very difficult time. It breaks our hearts,” the boy’s grandfather Latif Almsodni said.
“He was a very intelligent and beautiful boy. It has been a shock to go through this whole experience.”
Anwar had just completed year seven at high school and was looking forward to cooling down at the local lake with his friends.
What was supposed to be a day spent venturing out to the lake for some fun turned into a devastating tragedy that the family said may have been prevented with better warning signage and proper infrastructure around the lake.
“I believe the boys were there because it is summer, and it is hot weather. Around here, there’s no safe place that is cooler for kids to play in the summer,” Mr Almsodni said.
“I think they could put a fence around it to prevent kids and children from going into the lake. It would also be better if the area was not so neglected. The rocks are unstable.
“We are not sure if there was a sign (at the lake), or if he would be able to read it, but even if there was a sign, one of the other boys would’ve been able to read it.”
Anwar’s family also said he hadn’t learnt how to swim properly since moving to Australia and lacked confidence in the water — an issue they stressed many refugee children faced after coming into the country.
“He didn’t really know how to swim. Most refugee children don’t know how to swim when they come here and they don’t get taught,” the boy’s uncle Salim Almsodni said.
“When my children came here, they were about five or six. My oldest child is 18-years-old now and still doesn’t know how to swim.
“We don’t want other children to be in the same danger, especially those that don’t know how to swim.
“We want to share our story to prevent other families from going through what we’re going through.”
As the weather warms up Royal Life Saving Society Australia CEO Justin Scarr said it was important to ensure all children, including those from refugee and migrant communities, had access to swimming programs to prevent anyone from “falling through the cracks”.
“Swimming is a life skill and we’ve got to work hard as a community to ensure all Australian children can swim. This year, children have missed out on swimming lessons because of Covid-19,” Mr Scarr said.
“We work with many people, including refugee and migrant communities. With a little bit of work, they fall in love with swimming. Local pools are a great place to go as it is a safe environment.
“Many people assume that lakes and rivers are reasonably safe but often the water is murky and there are strong currents and steep drop offs. They’re sometimes as dangerous as beaches.
“My heart breaks for this family and the boys. It’s just a really tragic accident.”
The boy’s funeral will be held on Thursday morning.
