Cynthia Busuttil
'Lucky' migrant recalls treacherous journey over land, sand and water
Migrants who land in Malta invariably include women, such as these two who arrived in January after being rescued by a cargo ship. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi.
The fishing boat was cracking in three places and it was fast taking in water, the 26 immigrants on board using plastic bottles to scoop the water out.
Among them was 22-year-old Eskedar, five months pregnant and scared. "Water kept coming in and we did not know where we were. I did not know whether we would make it to land," she says, her eyes glazed as she stares ahead, remembering.
Finally, the immigrants made it ashore. "At last I was in a safe place."
It was August 2006 and Eskedar and her husband had been on the run for about a year, fleeing their homeland, Ethiopia, for Sudan before crossing the desert to Libya and finally arriving in Malta.
Sitting in the offices of the Jesuit Refugee Service, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, her brown hair held back with a thin band, Eskedar, now 24, relates the journey, which came to an end in February 2007, when she and her family were resettled in Lithuania.
"We had just had an election in Ethiopia and the situation was no longer tolerable. Our life was in danger and we had no choice but to leave."
She still fears the repercussions of fleeing her country and would not have her surname or picture printed.
The couple fled for neighbouring Sudan, where they stayed for two weeks.
But life was not easy there, as conflicts erupted following the death of Vice President John Garang de Mabior. Again, they packed their belongings and left, this time for Libya, crossing the desert on what she described as a treacherous journey.
"The desert is scattered with skeletons, reminding you of those who did not make it. The tyres start melting because the sand is so hot and we had to get off the truck and walk. It felt as if there was fire under our feet and there was nowhere to seek shelter from the scorching sun.
"We kept being handed to other people and every few miles they stop the truck and ask for more money. And if you don't have it, they will just leave you in the middle of the desert, with nowhere to go. You have no choice but to pay again."
The only solace was that she was not alone. "I cannot imagine how many women have been raped while trying to flee their countries and how many of them suffer repercussions throughout their lives. At least, I was with my husband."
The group finally made it to Benghazi but Eskedar's troubles were not yet over and the 11 months she spent in the north African country were far from idyllic.
"The minute we arrived in Libya we were given Muslim names. I became Muna. It is hard to have to change your identity."
Yet, this was just the tip of the iceberg. She stares ahead as she remembers the first time she was arrested, thrown into a container and taken to a prison. The details are sketchy, as if the suffering was too much to remember and her system attempted to erase the memory.
She admits to have forgotten all about the containers used to transport immigrants to prisons around Libya, journeys that sometimes take days, until last week when Italian journalist Gabriele del Grande mentioned them during a seminar to mark World Refugee Day, celebrated last Saturday.
"I just started to shake and could not stop crying. I thought I had forgotten all about it," she says, her voice full of emotion.
She was thrown in a cell and could hear the other immigrants shouting and crying. "I was dying inside. Nobody knew where I was or that I had been arrested. I was all alone. "
The young woman was released, only to be arrested again a few months later.
"I knew then that we had to leave. I did not want my child to be born in Libya but somewhere safe. I needed to be in a country where I did not have to be ashamed to say who I am."
Three years on, the boat journey feels unreal. "Sometimes I find myself wondering whether it was real. I remember wading in the water up to my chest until we got into the boat. When we got to the open sea, it was rough even though it was August. It's amazing that we all made it."
The group landed in Malta and was taken to a detention centre, where Eskedar spent two months. Soon after she was released she gave birth to Hannah, she recalls, her voice softening as she speaks about her daughter.
Months later the family was taken to Lithuania where Eskedar has managed to pick up the pieces, going back to University to study finance, a course she had started in Ethiopia, fleeing just months before graduating.
Does she think about going back?
Of course, she says. "I am happy that I'm alive. But there is no place like home," she says.
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joe briffa
Jun 25th 2009, 23:13
And we have to believe all this???? We were born yesterday weren't we,crossing miles and miles of desert,and land just to come to Malta,hehe,you r joking aren't you??? come on,stupid tales and more of this,and still these people are working freely and roaming our land while we pay for them to hang around at bars and now on the beaches.....where on earth are we getting up to!!!!!!!!!
steve elliott,uk
Jun 25th 2009, 22:07
The last line of this story says it all. Unfortunately ,we all know that words are cheap !!
P Debono
Jun 25th 2009, 20:50
Funny how she would not have have surname or picture printed! Yet another tell-tale from an economic migrant. I pity those truly poor Africans who cannot even walk one mile, let alone pay countless drivers to come to Europe, assuming, after all, that this part is true. Oh and I loved the part of the tyres melting!! What a blatant lie. How about you print a real story about the sufferings that the AFM soldiers and policemen have to endure on a daily basis? I can write the articles for free if you like.
Guze Xerri
Jun 25th 2009, 19:21
More tall tales from these people that want to force themselves on us and our culture in unregulated numbers.
None seem to tell of heroic stories of how they plan to work hard to make their rich and vast homelands into viable livable modern safe nations for their countrymen and children.
We owe nothing to these people and I hope they leave us alone once and for all.
David Muscat
Jun 25th 2009, 17:53
Is this another sob story like last week's which turned out to be false? A clue is the "The tyres start melting because the sand is so hot ". Tyres do not melt in the desert. They would need very high temperatures to melt . You can leave a petrol can on the roof of a car in the desert and it will not catch fire.
"She admits to have forgotten all about the containers used to transport immigrants to prisons around Libya, journeys that sometimes take days," . She spent several days travelling, locked in a container, in the hot desert and she forgot all about it! One would never forget such a thing. Not mention it maybe, but forget? I find it very hard to believe.
The article doesn't mention why she fled Ethiopia. There were even elections she says . If so why flee? Once she crossed over from Libya she became an economic migrant.
This article seems like an attempt to discredit Libya to force Italy to stop sending the economic migrants back.
lgalea
Jun 25th 2009, 17:07
Joseph Cauchi, Steven Camilleri, louise vella, Joanne Micallef, Michelle Dali
Totally agree with you all.
Michelle Dali
Jun 25th 2009, 16:51
Yes, it is true that there's no place like home.
When will educated Africans, like Eskedar claims to be, decide to come together and strive to make their own countries work? If all the healthy and educated people leave, things will never improve in their country. This mass exodus of young healthy adults cannot be good for Africa. The fact is that the truly poor and needy people are still in Africa and cannot pay criminals to get out illegally as Eskedar has done. The international community continues to send aid to Africa, but it is the Africans themselves who must decide to end their wars and bring peace and stability to their homelands.
Joanne Micallef
Jun 25th 2009, 14:35
When will we read an honest account about the experiences of an AFM soldier who has to take care of these illegal immigrants on a daily basis?
louise vella
Jun 25th 2009, 12:33
Of course, one cannot contest style. But what can one conclude from the following words and phrases in the article?
“Eskedar, five months pregnant and scared.”
“her eyes glazed as she stares ahead, remembering.”
“She still fears the repercussions of fleeing her country and would not have her surname or picture printed.”
“crossing the desert on what she described as a treacherous journey.”
“She stares ahead as she remembers the first time she was arrested,”
“as if the suffering was too much to remember and her system attempted to erase the memory.”
"I just started to shake and could not stop crying."
“Soon after she was released she gave birth to Hannah, she recalls, her voice softening as she speaks about her daughter.”
Anyway, good luck to Ms Eskedar.
louise vella
Jun 25th 2009, 12:12
"But there is no place like home," she says.
And right she is. Especially after finishing her course on finance I hope Ms Eskedar will find her way back to Ethiopia where her knowledge of finance will be needed.
But just by the way, have all the facts in this sob story been double checked?
Steven Camilleri
Jun 25th 2009, 11:57
Then go home!!! Why should me and my country carry the burden of your continents problem!!!
Joseph Cauchi
Jun 25th 2009, 11:49
Correct me if I am wrong.
Weren't these people, prior to landing in Malta, in a safe and secure place like Libya?
Therefore, why do they leave a safe place like Libya and try to settle in Europe?
I believe there is more than just an excuse for humanitarian protection!
One should take every similar account with a big bag full of salt, as I am not easily swayed by such stories!
../..
Marion Pace
Jun 25th 2009, 10:33
Yes there is no better place then home and hope for all the African people that they will find peace and that they could retun to their homeland without any fear and able to contribute the results of the education in Europe to their less fortunate brothers and sisters. Africa is such a beautiful continent and it is a pity it is being ruined by wars. Hope that talks with Libya would be a sucess so that true refugees would benefit.