It stops in Italian or international waters - never Libyan waters - and takes in migrants in need, sometimes for as long as two weeks, before they are sent to Italy.įadlalla said medics on the ship often use scars or bruises to piece together what happened to the migrants - a kaleidoscope of trauma used to compile accounts of human rights violations. ![]() The Geo Barents helps those lucky enough to flee, trawling the waters of the central Mediterranean near Italy and Libya in search of migrant boats. Attempts to escape can be a death sentence. Many migrants land in the hands of traffickers in Libya who demand hefty sums in exchange for their freedom. “We commonly see bullet wounds, burns, evidence of electrocution, lots of beatings.” “We see a lot of them with actual physical evidence of violence, injuries that cause long-term problems,” said MSF doctor Mohammed Fadlalla. Many stream to Libya from elsewhere in Africa, boarding precarious vessels to cross the Mediterranean toward Italy.ĪFP could not independently verify details of John’s account, but MSF doctors on the Geo Barents say many migrants arrive with chilling reminders of their time in Libya. More than 31,000 made the journey by sea last year, according to UN figures. John is one of the tens of thousands of migrants who attempt the dangerous and often deadly crossing from Libya to Italy every year. “There is no government in this country,” he said. John colors Libya in black to signify the pain he experienced during his time there. He like others has received medical care on board the ship, where migrants also spend time doing activities like the map coloring exercise. He eventually escaped, boarding a dinghy headed for Italy, from which he was rescued in April by the Geo Barents. “I was abducted from Al Kufra and sold to traffickers. ![]() He explained how he fled authoritarian Eritrea in 2018, crossing through Ethiopia and Sudan before arriving in the southeastern Libyan city of Al Kufra four years ago. “I was tied up, beaten, electrocuted,” said 25-year-old Eritrean refugee John, who gave only one name. Libya has been singled out as a dangerous country for migrants, and a UN report last year revealed “crimes against humanity” inflicted on the most vulnerable.įor some aboard the Geo Barents ship run by medical charity Doctors Without Borders, the dangers are all too familiar. Libya however, a common transit country from sub-Saharan Africa into Italy, is black.įor many of the migrants, the country evokes painful memories: Abuse, torture and trafficking. The countries are brightly colored in yellow, green, purple and red. TRIPOLI: On a medical ship off the Italian coast, rescued migrants are coloring in a map of Africa, where many started their perilous journeys toward Europe.
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