Hassan Akkad is a British writer, filmmaker and human rights activist originally from Syria.
11 Facts About Hassan Akkad
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Hassan Akkad is originally from Damascus, and worked as an English teacher and photographer.
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Hassan Akkad travelled via Turkey and the Calais Jungle, before using a fake passport to fly to Heathrow, where he claimed asylum.
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Hassan Akkad first lived in Hitchin for two months, before moving into a spare room in Brixton.
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Hassan Akkad filmed his journey to the UK, and this footage was used in the BBC documentary, Exodus: Our Journey to Europe which won the BAFTA award for Best Factual Series or Strand in 2017.
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Hassan Akkad raised the issue of how many refugees had died trying to enter Europe when invited to join director James Bluemel at his acceptance speech.
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Hassan Akkad stated that although he appreciates the Clap for Our Carers events, as they have made communities closer, he "cringe[s]" when he sees government members clapping, due to their handling of the pandemic.
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Hassan Akkad has started writing a memoir, which will be published in 2021 by Pan Macmillan.
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Hassan Akkad was engaged to a Syrian woman he met in the UK, who was there as a student and whose home in Damascus was bombed.
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Hassan Akkad's family left Syria: his parents now live in the UAE, and his brother works for the World Food Programme in Yemen.
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In September 2022, Hassan Akkad was naturalized as a British citizen.