One young Eritrean migrant was among a group of 29 who disembarked from the NGO Emergency's ship Life Support in Marina di Carrara, Italy on June 5. Here he tells his story, of being repeatedly returned to Libya.
Among the group of 29 migrants who disembarked from the Italian medical humanitarian charity Emergency's rescue ship Life Support on June 5 in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara was a 25-year-old Eritrean man.
He and the rest of those on board the boat he was rescued from had set out from the port of Sabratah, Libya and were picked up by the crew of Life Support on June 2. As he arrived in Italy, he decided to tell his story.
"I was asked to pay a ransom four times, in total, the migrant smugglers received $13,000 (about €12,100) from me and my family. The day I arrived in Libya I was imprisoned by the local militia. They asked me for a ransom of $800 dollars (about €747)", said the young Eritrean.
"I was able to pay that first ransom and then boarded a ship, but the Libyans searched for us at sea, took us back, and put us in prison again. This happened another three times: every time I boarded a boat I was then taken back and put in prison", the man continued to explain.
Repeated ransom demands
All in all, he estimates that while trying to leave for Europe, he must have paid around $13,000 (about €12,100) to the migrant smugglers. The young man told the crew on board Emergency, that "When I saw your ship, I cried in relief. Now I dream of arriving in France and never having to live in terror again", he concluded.
"Those we rescued are finally in a safe country but for every person rescued we do not know how many will drown in the Mediterranean or how many continue to suffer because they are taken back to Libya", commented Albert Mayordomo, Head of Mission on board the Life Support ship.
"Even during this mission, we could see how common the practice of being returned to Libya actually is. In just two weeks, we witnessed at least five cases of people being returned with our own eyes, that's a total of over 800 persons who were taken back to Libya against their will", he added.
Mayor of Carrara 'proud' of her city's response
The mayor of Carrara, a town in Italy's Tuscany region, famed for its marble, declared herself to be proud of her city's response to the migrants.
Among the group of 29 migrants who disembarked in Marina di Carrara was a two-year-old baby with his mother, two unaccompanied girls, and eight young people under 18.The two girls were placed in a structure in Carrara, and the young boys in centers in other municipalities.
Following their disembarkation, the migrants were bussed to a center where they received health checks, went through a process of identification and were given something to eat and a place to rest. "I want to thank those that made this possible, once again, and the perfect success of the operations", declared the mayor of Carrara, Serena Arrighi.
"Thank you to the prefect Guido Aprea, who coordinated the welcoming and shelter and the civil protection unit of the municipality of Carrara and our social services, our security services, the Region of Tuscany, the ASL [health and welfare provider] Tuscany, the Port Authorities, and all port personnel, Imm-Carrarafiere and, not least, the many volunteers who offered their time to make a fundamental contribution to these efforts," said Arrighi.
"This is the third time that boats have arrived to disembark in our port in the last three months. Our city has always responded with professionalism and humanity and I am very proud of it", Arrighi concluded.