Julia Leithauser / SOS MEDITERRANEE
Suad*, 23 years old, is from Syria.
While Patrolling in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region, the Ocean Viking overheard several VHF mayday relays indicating a boat in distress requiring immediate assistance. She was rescued on December 12, 2024, with 33 other survivors from a rubber boat in distress, in International waters off Libya.
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Morgane Lescot
Suad* has been travelling with three other young Syrian women. They enjoy having hot tea on deck, portside, out of sight, watching the waves in silence. They never stray too far from the women Shelter.
Suad* got married in Syria. As her husband refused to do his military service** there, he was banned from his home country, forced to exile: “I want to join my husband: he has been living in Germany for 2 years now. I have applied for ‘Family reunion’ several times, but all my requests have been turned down.”
She took the decision to make the journey to Europe by crossing the Mediterranean sea. “It was very difficult for my family to accept my decision. They did not want me to take the road, nor did my husband. It’s too dangerous, they told me. Eventually, my husband accepted. He borrowed money from a friend and gave me enough to be able to leave. He made all the arrangements for me. It took us 5 months to prepare the journey.”
Suad* took a direct flight from Damas to Benghazi. Then, she spent three days in the desert, joining Benghazi to Tripoli: “this three-day voyage by bus was exhausting”. Then she stayed in Libya for 7 months, with her brother-in-law. “In Libya, as a woman, you cannot go outside, not even with a hijab – your whole face must be covered, with only your eyes to be seen. I was constantly scared for my life, there were a lot of people with guns in the streets and rumors of kidnappings.”
When she asked what she misses the most from Syria, Suad* mentions, with no hesitation but tears in her eyes, her mother. “Now, I just want a peaceful life with my husband in Germany.”
Suad* and 162 other survivors were later disembarked in Ravenna on December 17th, 2024.
*Name modified to protect the identity of the person.
** Military service in Syria lasts an average of two years when not in a war period. In a period of war, there is no limit: enlisted men can be requisitioned for an endless amount of time.
Testimony collected on December 15th, 2024, by Morgane Lescot on board Ocean Viking.
