Farah: Rejected by the smugglers

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. The first destination was Kufra, a smuggling centre in south-eastern Libya, where he had an unpleasant surprise. He and his fellow travellers were detained, and the smugglers demanded they call their families for ransom. They were beaten and humiliated. When this ordeal was over, Farah continued through the desert to Tripoli. Conditions on the way were harsh.

In Tripoli, he was welcomed by his brother. He managed to find a job, but the situation in Libya was rapidly deteriorating, with fighting and violence in the streets. One day when his brother was standing on the balcony, he was shot and killed. Farah was devastated. He decided it was too dangerous to stay and tried to get on a smuggler’s boat to Europe. When he was about to board, the smugglers stopped him and said he did not belong to them and had no right to be there.

Farah went back to Tripoli. From there he returned by plane to Sudan, thoroughly disillusioned about going on tahriib. His family in Sudan were still worried about his safety, and sent him to Egypt, where he applied for asylum. There, a friend proposed going on tahriib to Europe, but Farah refused. He says tahriib is dangerous and only brings trouble to yourself and your family.