Personal stories

Maïmouna's tale: 'Returning home from Libya, I was so scared of my family's judgment'

Maïmouna, a 33-year-old Ivorian, always dreamed of starting her own business in the Ivory Coast. Lacking funds, she decided to migrate to Europe to work. She hoped the money she'd earn could enable her to return home to realize her dream and help her family. But the journey through Libya, marred by kidnapping and imprisonment, killed all her hopes.

South Sudan: Displaced woman sets up small coffee stall with IOM assistance

Over two million people have fled South Sudan due to fighting and extreme weather events; well over one million South Sudanese nationals have been internally displaced. One of them is Alok, whose story was recently recounted by IOM (UN Migration Agency).

Samia, an Algerian in northern Serbia: 'The next step is Hungary but the children are tired'

Samia first left Algeria with her two small children to join her husband in Turkey. Together, they then took the Balkan route with the goal of reaching France, where Samia's sister lives. The family is now stuck in northern Serbia, where they are waiting to cross the Hungarian border.

Mazen, the ordeal of an abducted refugee teen in Libya

A 14-year-old Sudanese refugee boy, Mazen, was abducted in August near his house in Warshafana, Libya. He was first held in a militia prison and he is currently detained in a juvenile prison in the Tajoura area, east of Tripoli. His father told ANSA that he still doesn't know why his son is being held and that the boy is in poor health.

Video: The Escape Diaries – Collins' broken Ukrainian dream

Nigerian student Collins Xavier went to Ukraine with the hope that it would catapult his career. But then the war changed everything. Since escaping Ukraine, Collins is now trying to restart his studies in Berlin and get his future back on track.

Video: The Escape Diaries – Ghanaian medical student traumatized by Russian war

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ghanaian student Dorcas Djabatey decided to wait it out. But as days turned to weeks, it became clear that she had to get out of the country, putting her dream of becoming a medical doctor in limbo. Here's her story of escape and hope.

Albania: Forgotten Afghan refugees

Many Afghans are still stuck in Albania after fleeing the Taliban even though other countries like the US and Canada originally promised to take them in. Here DW listens to the story of Jamshid Akbari and how he is quickly losing hope that he will travel onwards.

Video: The Escape Diaries – Olawale's escape from Ukraine

Olawale Abdulmajeed, a 32-year-old Nigerian medical student, fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion. His escape took him from Dnipro, Ukraine, all the way to Dordrecht in the Netherlands. With the sound of exploding bombs still in his ears, he is now trying to make a new life. But how did he experience the whole escape? And what difficulties is he facing now? Olawale tells his story.

Sister Chiara's tale: 'We are just like a family here'

Sister Chiara is a Franciscan nun. From her convent in the Sicilian town of Caltagirone she busies herself, bare-footed, helping those in need, including migrant women and their babies off the streets of Sicily.

Julian's tale: Child labor and exploitation in Sicily's greenhouses

Julian started working in greenhouses in southern Sicily at the age of 14. He tells InfoMigrants how the 'Proxima' social cooperative helped him to escape the cycle of labor exploitation.

Blessing's tale: 'I hope the future will be brighter for me'

Blessing is originally from Nigeria. She arrived in Italy four years ago and was identified as having been a victim of human trafficking. She came to the social cooperative Proxima through a similar social project in Palermo. Now she's planning to move out of Proxima to live independently.

'I can't imagine the future' – Ajabana, 'exhausted' after nine months of detention in Libya

Ajabana* was arrested last January while demonstrating outside an administrative center of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Libyan capital. Since then, he has been locked up in the notorious Ain Zara prison. He described the nightmarish experience to InfoMigrants.