Mohammedsaid was forced to take the difficult decision of leaving his wife and two children in Eritrea in the hope that he would support them once in Europe.

Al Shabaab sentenced her to death for defying their rules. That’s when she decided to run away, and embark upon a journey which she had limited knowledge about.

Merhawit left Eritrea by crossing the Ethiopian border and was registered at one of the UNHCR refugee camps. Like many others hoping to reach Europe, she departed within a week and headed for Sudan.

Like many refugees, he departed Eritrea with limited knowledge of the journey which lay ahead of him. He left with the aim of getting to Khartoum, the major launch pad for refugees from the Horn of Africa heading to Europe via the Mediterranean. In Khartoum, Abraham, just like many others, would work to earn some money that would finance the journey.

Muhiim begun her irregular journey from Somalia in 2012 at the age of 17. As a teenager she was kidnapped, sexually abused and tortured by armed groups who had also wanted to marry her off. Luckily she was able to escape and get into Ethiopia. Whilst in Ethiopia, recuperating from the wounds inflicted on her, she became acquainted with the journey to Europe.

Like many young Eritrean men, Yohannes first sought asylum in Ethiopia and lived in a refugee camp there. Nine months later he was granted the opportunity to study at Mekelle University in Ethiopia, majoring in a three year Business Management Program. Upon graduation, unable to secure a job as a refugee, he was forced to go back to the refugee camp where he stayed for a year. Frustrated over waiting, he decided to embark on the journey to Europe.

While living in Somalia, Abdisalan found himself having to choose between two fires. War had broken out in his home area that resulted in his his father being killed by Al Shabaab militants right before his eyes. Having nowhere else to go, he decided to flee Somalia. He embarked on the journey despite knowledge that it would certainly present its own problems.

“Before I got abducted, I had no intention of going to Europe or America,” Filmon says. “Since my training was mainly within electronics repair and IT, my hope was to work in Uganda or Angola.”

28 year old Bashiir is quietly seated in the room of a refugee center in Berlin. His demeanor is that of a person who feels out of place and isolated. His towering figure is hunched in a state of resignation, as if giving in to a battle.

It’s a warm September afternoon and we’re sitting at a refugee center in Munich. With us are Osman and Mohamed, two Somali asylum seekers who have been living in Germany for three and eleven months, respectively. As they remember the journey they endured to get here, Mohamed is much more talkative while Osman is more reserved.

Akberet’s journey from Eritrea to Europe started in 2012 when she left Eritrea to find work in Sudan, where she ended up living for nine months. Originally she had no plans to leave, but life there proved to be too difficult. After watching many others depart for Europe, she decided to take her chances and join them.