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At the university in Khartoum, Farah became involved in political activities, and decided to leave the country. His brother was living in Libya, so Farah asked his advice. He said Libya was dangerous, but Farah insisted to come. He contacted a smuggler and departed on the journey.

Ali was suffering from economic and other problems in his native country Sudan and wanted to go abroad to improve his situation. Two friends were planning to go to Europe and asked Ali to join them. He hesitated because he knew the route through Libya and across the sea was dangerous. He stayed behind and the friends left. When they had reached Libya, they asked him to join them, and he changed his mind and left, travelling with many other people on a smuggler’s pickup truck.

Natsenet and Meron met at the cafeteria in Asmara, Eritrea, where she was working. They married and had a daughter. Their life situation was difficult, and they could barely get along on his salary as a part-time teacher. When Natsenet was summoned to military service, they decided to flee the country.

Nasiba had to flee Sudan after her husband and her sister were killed in an attack on their home. She went to Egypt with her son and her two nieces. A friend suggested they could go together to Libya and from there to Europe, and Nasiba agreed. They worked to earn money to pay the smuggler and then they left for Alexandria. They had to stay in a big house with many people who like them were waiting to depart to Libya. Nasiba noticed that bad things were going on in the house.

Homam fled his home in Syria in 2013 after the war made life impossible for him and his family to stay. He spent five years in Lebanon before he started to feel his family were treated as second-class citizens there. He heard that the treatment would be better in Europe, so he decided to head to Egypt to cross the sea from there. As they flew from Beirut to Khartoum he felt he was on the cusp of finding place where he could lead a better, more dignified life than the one he had fled.

Ekhlas escaped from her hometown in western Sudan after a tribal vendetta in which several family members were killed. She went to Khartoum, but their enemies followed them there, so she fled with her children to Egypt. Even there, they were afraid to be caught up by the murderers.

“Women and girls die of diseases or lack of food. They are also being raped, anything is possible there. If you die, there are no burials. In BaniWalid, there are writings on the walls saying, Don’t dump bodies here!” Three Sudanese men are sitting in a refugee reception centre in Malta discussing their horrible experiences on the way through Libya and across the sea.

“We didn’t know what to do. We asked him, How? We paid the smuggler and he paid you! He said, I don’t have anything to do with that smuggler. You either pay, or I leave you here and go!” The driver taking Taher and other refugees through the mountains threatened to abandon them in the wilderness.

“Above you is sky and below is water, nothing else. There were women and children with us. It was a very difficult situation. You do not feel hungry or thirsty because you only want to arrive, for three days.” After escaping brutal treatment in Libya, Suleiman spent an agonising three days on a boat, not knowing if he would make it to Europe

Safiya fled the war in Syria and travelled to Sudan. Her intention was to eventually reach Europe. She stayed in Sudan for a year, got married and had a child. Living conditions there were difficult and they decided to take the Libya route to Europe. They arranged with a smuggler and started the journey through the desert.

Seif was a student in Sudan when he and some friends decided to travel to Europe. They arranged the journey with a smuggler and left for Libya through Chad. The desert was a tough experience, there was little to eat and drink, and when they arrived in Libya, they were exhausted. There, they were kidnapped and forced to work without pay in the goldmines close to the border.

Mustafa was born in Sudan but when he was a teenager, his family moved to Egypt. Soon after arriving there, he decided to try to get to Canada because he felt he had no future in Egypt. He and some friends arranged with a smuggler and they left on a boat from Alexandria.