By Isabella Nikolic

undreds of British parents are sending their teenage children back to East Africa to avoid the knife crime epidemic that has struck London and seen 51 murders this year. 

And the teenagers say they feel safer there, despite the Foreign and Commonwealth office advising against all travel to Somalia and warning against the threat of terrorism across Kenya. 

One Somali mother, Amina, was interviewed on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme and told the harrowing story of how her 15-year-old son was stabbed four times, just 17 days after he returned from a year-long stay in their homeland. 

She said: ‘They damaged his bladder, his kidneys, his liver. He’s got permanent damage.

‘He was safer there [in Somaliland] than he was here, 100 per cent more safe than in London.’  

Last year the Foreign Office named Somalia the 13th most dangerous country in the world due to its constant threat of terrorism.  

And yet two in five Somalian families in London are sending their children home to avoid the knife crime epidemic hitting the capital, according to the mayor of Islington. 

London vs Mogadishu: Murder rates

Somalian parents living in London are sending their children back to their home country even though the murder rates in its capital, Mogadishu, are far worse. 

Based on the most recent data, Mogadishu saw 1,376 murders in 2017, whereas London saw just less than a tenth of that number at 129. 

With a population of 2.425million, Mogadishu’s murder rate is 56.75 per 100,000 people. 

However, with a population of 8.825million London’s murder rate is 1.46 per 100,000. 

While the figures should speak for themselves, past incidents may indicate that young men from East Africa are more at risk of being killed in London. 

One mother, Fowsiya Abdi, 48, has lost two sons and a nephew to stabbings in London in the past two years. 

Mayor Rakhia Ismail, a mother of four who came to London as a Somalian refugee, said that parents are making the drastic decision because they believe it will save their child’s life. 

So far this year 100 people have been stabbed to death in the UK. 

According to the BBC, eight per cent of the victims were of Somali heritage. 

Earlier this morning a man in his 30s was stabbed to death in London, sparking the capital’s 51st murder probe this year. 

The most recent crime statistics show that there are two killings every day on Britain’s streets – the highest level in a decade. 

A mentor of young Somali men in London, Jamal Hassan, explained on the Victoria Derbyshire programme that parents will do anything to protect their child. 

To read more click here: Somali parents in London send their children back to war-torn East African country

Source: Mail Online