SOS MEDITERRANEE / Johanna de Tessieres
Ali*, an 8-year-old unaccompanied minor, was rescued by the Ocean Viking teams from an overcrowded rubber boat in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region on March 14, 2024, along with 87 other people.
“My name is Ali*. I’m 8 years old and from Tambaga in Mali. In my country, I used to go to school. About a year ago I left Mali with another boy whom I lost track of when I arrived in Libya. I went through Algeria before arriving in Libya. I walked in the desert for about a month with my friend. On the way, I worked. I did welding and painting. In Libya, I slept in the street in Sabratha. I was often beaten up because I’m black. I heard that people were crossing the Mediterranean to escape Libya, so I decided to do the same. This is the second time I’ve tried to cross the Mediterranean. The first time, the Libyan Coast Guards arrested me and put me in a jail** called Ain Zara. I stayed there for several months. I was scared. I had no money to go out, to eat. Two adults helped me escape.”
*Name changed for anonymity
**survivors refer to both official and unofficial detention centers as “prison” or “jail”
