Kiros’ Story

Kiros’ Journey:

Family reunited
after three years

Life in Sudan

Kiros and his wife Adiam met in a refugee camp for Eritreans in Ethiopia, got married and started a family. Because of the lack of job opportunities in the camp, they moved to Sudan, where they hoped to be able to earn a living.

That proved to be very difficult, and Kiros decided to go to South Sudan, where he stayed working for a year. When he returned to Khartoum, his family had left to go to Europe via Libya. Their situation in Sudan had become unbearable and Adiam had not been able to contact her husband. He now had no idea where they were but decided to follow them to Europe.

“In Libya I faced two years of hell. Living conditions there were absolutely terrible. It’s the worst route to take. I was stuck in a warehouse for seven months. The smugglers told me I could work for passage across the sea. I worked for a year. I cleaned the toilets and the warehouse.”

– Kiros, Eritrea

Smugglers & detention in Libya

Because of the bad living conditions, he lost weight and on photos taken of him at that time he is barely recognizable as the same person he is today. Many of his fellow sufferers got sick with malaria and some of them died. After one year and seven months, Kiros had earned enough to pay for the passage to Europe.

He departed in a small boat, but after ten hours, the sea became so rough that they had to be rescued by a ship which took them back to Libya. He was fortunate enough to be taken to a camp managed by UNHCR.

Meanwhile, Adiam had contacted UNHCR in France, where she was living, asking for help to find her husband. They managed to find him; he was chosen for resettlement and brought to Niger to wait for a decision on family reunification. Kiros started preparing for his departure.

Reunification after three years

“We knew this day was coming even though we didn’t know the date. Only God knew, so all I could do was pray. I prayed every night before I went to sleep, hoping this day would come. I will hold my family in my arms and kiss them. Some of my kids are tall, others are shorter. The tall ones will crouch so we can all hug together.”

Finally, the big day came and Kiros boarded the plane to Marseilles.
So many thoughts and emotions went through his mind:

“I was so happy. I felt a different kind of happiness. Just thinking about having breakfast with my family! I couldn’t even sleep. I didn’t believe it was really happening until I was on board the plane. I was looking at my watch all the time, thinking, today I will be having breakfast with them. When will the sun get up?”

At the airport, his family was waiting for him. After three long and difficult years, they were finally together again. Today, Kiros and Adiam are building a new life, facing struggles and challenges on the way. But they are facing the future together, a reunited family.