Favour was preparing for her wedding in her village in Nigeria when catastrophe struck, and she had to flee for her life. Her brother killed their stepmother in an argument about the wedding, the stepmother’s family blamed Favour for what happened and vowed to kill her in revenge. Favour saw no other solution than to escape. She had heard about possibilities to work in Libya and contacted a smuggler. The journey through the desert was a horrible ordeal.

Shola was unhappy with her life in Nigeria. She wanted to study and get a job, but when she finished secondary school, her family expected her to marry, have children, and be a housewife. She decided to go to Europe to realise her plans. A woman promised to take her there, and she departed with a group of girls. They had been promised the journey would be short and easy, but already the crossing of the hot desert to Libya was an ordeal.

At her school in Nigeria, Vera and her brother were being threatened by gangsters. The situation became dangerous, and her mother was very worried about her security. Vera felt she had no other option than flee from the country. She contacted a smuggler who would take her to Europe via Libya. She was surprised when the woman frankly suggested that she could earn money both in Libya and in Europe as a prostitute. Vera said she would not do such a thing, and the woman did not press the issue. When they arrived in Libya, she called her and told her that now, she must work as a prostitute to pay her debt.

Franca was in her early twenties and the time for her coming-of-age ceremony was approaching. In her tribe in Nigeria, girls are expected to undergo female genital mutilation as an initiation rite to enter mature womanhood. Franca did not want to be cut and she escaped from home. She went to the nearest city, but then she decided to go to Libya to look for work. Having arrived in Libya, Franca realised that the grim reality was completely different from what she had expected. It was a dangerous place, especially for women.

When Ifeoma’s business in Nigeria failed and she got into debt, her husband kicked her out of her home. She was in a desperate situation, but then she met a woman who told her she could take her to Libya to work as a housemaid. Ifeoma saw this as a chance to earn money to pay off her debts. But the journey was not as she had expected.

Six Somali men experienced a difficult journey getting to Europe. Some were imprisoned, and most of them lost friends in the Sahara. Despite having made it, they do not feel it was worth the struggle or the money.

Abdirahim embarked on his irregular journey in 2014 with the objective of getting to Europe. Despite his awareness of the dangers that come with such journeys, he was willing to gamble with his life and try, hoping to be one of the people who succeed in making it.

“The most important thing for me was to meet someone who told about his experience of travelling with smugglers.” At an event in Hargeisa young Somali victims of human smuggling tell their peers about their experience. Watch the story!

Watch the trailer to learn about Telling the Real Story.

“They think that as soon as they arrive here, they will get a well-paid job and be able to support their families. But it’s difficult to get a job and there’s a long process to go through before you can stand on your own feet.”Daniel speaks about the cultural shock asylum seekers experience when they arrive in the country of asylum and realize that nothing is what they had expected. 

Originally from Mogadishu, Halima has been through a great deal during her journey to Europe. And despite her eventual arrival there, the last seven years have seen her traveling between different countries seeking asylum without any success.