By Adama Makasuba
Mohammed Fatty, like many others, decided to leave the Gambia in 2021 in pursuit of a better life in Europe. Despite working as a logistics driver in his home country and saving to purchase a commercial vehicle, he felt daunted by improving his family’s living standards. This prompted him to undertake the hazardous journey to Europe through conflict-ridden Libya.
Despite being a qualified driver, Mohammed was resolute in leaving for Europe, believing it to be the only continent where he could establish a better life. The idea of undertaking the backway journey became fixed in my mind, convincing me to leave the country, he shared while staying at a Ghetto in Wilingara. He continued, “Life is challenging in this country; young people risk their lives to undertake the backway journey. We often hide and rely on those who have been there for a while to help us buy food.
As a relatively affluent migrant, Fatty spent just two weeks in Libya before relocating to Tunisia. He took on various jobs to make ends meet and save money for a dinghy boat to journey to Europe with other desperate African migrants. However, his dreams were shattered upon arriving in a semi-autonomous North African country after the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2012, following the widespread uprising in Benghazi in 2011.
In Libya, Fatty and other African migrants were imprisoned and subjected to torture. He and another Gambian managed to escape from the prison, along with 81 other migrants, when armed attackers assaulted the facility. Despite regaining their freedom, their struggles persisted as they faced difficulty affording food. Fatty recounted, “I was apprehended on the beach while we were in hiding, waiting for a boat. We spent a month in that detention center before the facility was attacked. I managed to escape by concealing myself in a refrigerator. Out of 83 people, only two of us successfully fled.”
Struggling with the hardships he faced in Libya; he has been diagnosed with a severe spinal cord injury as a result of the torture he endured in prison. “I was once a dedicated worker, but now I must avoid strenuous tasks because of the significant spinal cord and lower back pain I experienced during my time in the prisons of Sabratha, Libya, where I was held for a little less than a month and then for over a month,” he shared.
