Natsenet and Meron: A perilous journey
“First I sent my wife and my daughter to Sudan. I knew that in that area so many girls were getting raped and a lot of people left dying on the way. It’s dreadful.” says Meron
“I was with my child, we walked. There were all kinds of animals, hyenas, snakes. I was expecting it but having a child with me made it more difficult and stressful. Later, they brought me a donkey. I kept falling and getting up again, but the journey went on.” Says Netsenet
“We came to a big river and there was a rope tied from a tree to another tree on the other side. Just before we reached that place, we saw a pickup truck coming toward us. The smugglers said those were from the Rashaida (bandits). We started to run. We had to cross the river very fast so the bandits wouldn’t catch us.”
“To reach the Egyptian border we had to cross a mountain. It’s very hard. So many people have fallen from that mountain. You can’t even look down from the top and it’s very slippery.” Says Meron
“We were telling them to let us go as we already had paid, but they would tell us to wait, the money didn’t arrive yet. Like this, we stayed there for 10 days. The food and drink we’d finished, we starved. Whenever we ask for food they wouldn’t care. It was dreadful. 10 days later they told us the money was received and that we could leave.” Says Natsenet