Nigeria
Country
50
Age
04.7.2024
Rescue Date

My name is Djema. I’m from Nigeria.

It’s not easy in Libya. I stayed four years. You know when you move in the street, you are not safe. You’re inside a motor [car], you are not safe. You are at home, sleeping, you are not safe. Sometimes they will carry you, point a gun [at you], collect everything you have, throw you away. You can do nothing.

They don’t like black men at all. They call you “slave”. If you go to prison now, many Africans are there. Thousands!
Because they are trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.
No food, no treatment. Nothing, nothing. They suffer a lot. 

I decided that Europe is safer for me than Libya. Because Libya is not safe. 

Latest testimonies

© SOS MEDITERRANEE / Johanna de Tessieres
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Johanna de Tessieres

Juba and Hassama

Juba, 20, and Hassama, 13, are brothers who were rescued on April 7th, 2024, by the Ocean Viking teams on board a wooden boat in the Libyan search and rescue region. Originally from the Delta Valley in Egypt, they shared the difficult living conditions and lack of prospect for the future in Egypt that led them to leave for Libya, risking their lives in the attempt to cross the Mediterranean.

© SOS MEDITERRANEE / Alisha Vaya
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Alisha Vaya

Amani

Amani* is 23 years old and comes from Sudan. He was rescued on the 6th of November 2024 from a wooden boat in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region.

He was among 140 people on a double decker boat which was heavily overcrowded and listing dangerously when the team of the Ocean Viking arrived on scene.

Illustration Image
Camille Martin / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Alex

“What am I fighting for? For a future.”

At only 17 years old, Alex* fled the war-torn city of Bor in South Sudan alone. After a difficult journey across Sudan and Libya, he attempted to cross the central Mediterranean on an overcrowded wooden boat. Listen to his inspiring story, an incredible example of resilience.