“The smuggler tells you the satellite phone is working but when you want to use it in the middle of the sea you’ll find it doesn't work. The treatment is bad, there's beatings and insults. Also, you suffer from hunger, you may eat just dry bread for three days or nothing at all. He takes money from you and says he’ll bring you food but he doesn’t. You go to him because you must.” Abdelmejid recalls.
They were heading in the direction of Sicily when they realised the fuel they had would never get them there. They drifted, unsure what to do, but happy even to go back to Libya if it meant moving from where they were. Fights broke out on the boat as they became more afraid. Everyone was squatting down so they didn’t rock the boat and cause it to capsize. People were crying, praying, expecting to die.
“Someone said, Even if they lock me up in Somalia, the only thing that matters is to get me out of the sea. Some people started to fight each other because of stress. We stopped it. Because we had children, families and women on board. We had to try to calm them down in any way. We told them if you don't sit quietly, we’ll throw you into the sea.”
They waited out another night and then a small fishing boat came, bringing news of their imminent rescue. A large ship arrived and threw them lifejackets and took them aboard before taking them to Malta. These days, Abdelmejid is under no illusions about what the smugglers sell as lies to desperate people fleeing to safety.
