Abdi's Story

Abdi fled from his home in Somalia because of the drought and general insecurity in Somalia. He travelled to Yemen at first, then to Sudan and through the Sahara Desert to Libya. He suffered horrific abuse and extortion at the hands of smugglers. He was imprisoned in Libya and eventually evacuated by UNHCR to Niger where he is waiting for re settlement.

"At first, I was not thinking about going to Libya, but to go wherever life took me. I met people going to Libya and I assumed it was a place where I could have a good standard of living and that I could build my future here."

"The smugglers tie your hands behind your back and make you sleep on your chest, they beat your legs with a stick. People are electrocuted whilst they pour water all over your body. The people in this hall were a mixture of Sudanese, Eritreans, and Somalis." Abdi recalls.

Abdirahman Hussein’s Story

Abdirahman was living in Hargeisa, Somalia when he started getting jealous of his friends who had gone to Europe. They were telling him that life there was wonderful, and he wanted to join them. With some other youths, he contacted a smuggler who arranged for their trip through Ethiopia, Sudan, and Libya. In the beginning, the journey was easy and the smugglers friendly and helpful.

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Ridwan’s Story: Smugglers are always lying

“The journey had a huge impact on my life. It’s not something you can easily forget. I faced a lot of things that I didn’t expect, beating, robbery and pain. I saw a lot of suffering that I hadn’t even imagined before. Things I had heard about but thought were lies.”

Abdi's Story

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