When Ismael Abdibasid left Somalia in March 2016, he was determined to reach Europe where he hoped to get a better life, despite having little knowledge of where exactly he would end up in Europe.

Back at home, Abdibasid comes from a poor family that belongs to a minority Madhiban tribe. Because of the history of suffering of his family and his tribe, the then 16-year old was forced to leave.

He remembers crossing a port with a group of other migrants before they were smuggled to Yemen. In Yemen, he met Yusuf Hussein Zeinab, she, too a Madhiban, and the two fell in love despite the situation they were going through.

Together, they were smuggled back to Libya where they were told that they would be returned home. 

"But the story was different. We were asked to pay a ransom for us to be let go. I was personally asked to pay $10,000, but none of my family members has had that money in their lifetime,” he says.

"Initially, I was smuggled through a port from Somalia to Yemen and Zeinab was also smuggled through the same route and we met at a place where smuggled people are kept at a coastal city in Yemen,” Abdibasid says.

The couple, just like others, were then smuggled through a network of human trafficking from Yemen to Libya where they were promised they would be saved and be taken to their final destination, only to find themselves in a detention centre in Libya.

Abdibasid, 19, says she stuck to Zeinab especially when they got to a detention centre in Kufra District in Libya and that was meant to protect her from being sexually violated. The two now have a three-month baby and are currently hosted at Gashora Transit Centre in Bugesera District in the Eastern Province.

"I can’t find the words to describe Libya, it is a market where human beings are traded,” the young man says with rage, showing visible scars of torture he was exposed to after failing to pay the ransom.

Zeinab, 18, also clearly remembers hallowing events while living in Libya, but she refrains from revealing much about what happened to her. 

"Life in Libya is more than difficult, there is killing, there is violence against women and other kind of human violations,” she says struggling not to cry.

A review of the literature shows that historically, minority groups in Somalia have not been counted and their languages and cultures are neither accepted nor respected. They are reported to suffer daily violence and persecution.

Additionally, minorities across the country experience denial and abuse including subjection to hate speech, limited access to justice and education, and exclusion from significant political participation and employment.

The two say they come from that marginalized tribe and they were unable to tolerate that as human beings and had no other choice but to leave and go anywhere that they would fair treatment and opportunities.

What they didn’t know is that they would end up in a detention centre. After a failed bid to reach their destination and three years in a detention centre, they were evacuated to Rwanda through an Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) initiated by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations for High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Fartun Qasim, 26-year-old, is another female asylum-seeker from Mogadishu, the Somalia capital. She left her country is 2016 after being threatened by Islamic organization, Al-Shabaab several times, and losing her baby in that process.

"In Mogadishu, I had a small tea cafeteria and I used to have a number of local leaders who would come over for breakfast or lunch. Al-Shabaab started threatening me that I was associating with the government,” she reveals how she was forced to leave her country.

26-year-old-Fartun Qasim had been in a detention centre in Libya for nearly three years before she was evacuated to Rwanda this year. / Emmanuel Kwizera  

Qasim’s last decision to flee the country was taken in September 2016 when she survived an attack of Al-Shabaab in which one of her babies was shot while she was breastfeeding her.

She, too, thought she would finally join others who were fleeing, only to find herself under similar situations. 

"At some point, I lost consciousness for a couple of months and came back to normal only to find myself and others crossing Sudan to Kufra. This is where we were taken to a detention centre”.

Qasim says she was asked to pay $8,000 to be released but she couldn’t afford and neither her family could. 

"My hands were tied and got electrified by cables after I failed to pay. They would send us to fetch water in the middle of the night. I saw violations that a human being cannot bear.”

Hope restored

Qasim and the couple are part of 189 asylum-seekers hosted at Gashora Transit Centre. They are part of two groups of migrants – unaccompanied minors, men and women – evacuated from Libya after bearing gross human rights abuses.

Libya has been the main crossing point from Africa to Europe for tens of thousands of migrants but many never make it, instead, they are captured by Libyan authorities and put into detention centres.

Many have described the situation in Libya as a huge smuggling industry but equally a massive criminal enterprise.

Individuals like those victims evacuated to Rwanda testify it, but they say they are happy they were saved and evacuated to Rwanda and hopeful that life can change, even though many still prefer Europe as their final destination.

Most of those hosted at the centre have tried more than once to cross the Mediterranean Sea, and some have made several attempts. How they got into that situation differs as told by the couple and Qasim, but what links their stories is the fundamental human desire for survival.

For now, they are still undergoing counselling at the transit centre, and receiving Kinyarwanda and English language courses to integrate with communities before other options are available for them.

Clementine Awu Nkwete Salami, the UNHCR Regional Director for the Eastern and Great Lakes Region, commended Rwanda during the tour of the camp last week by diplomats, for accepting "to provide these people with a sanctuary where there is peace and security.”

"I must say I’m quite happy to see that we have been able to put in place the structures that can provide immediate relief for the individuals who are facing very hallowing situations in Libya,” she said during the visit at the camp

According to Salami, the UNHCR was exploring options of resettlement to third party countries, repatriation as well as working with Rwanda to facilitate those who want to stay in the country.

She also confirmed that there are other European governments that have come forward as part of responsibility sharing to offer a place for asylum-seekers to be resettled in their countries.

"Sweden is one of those countries that have provided us with opportunities, and other Scandinavian countries,” she noted.

Rwanda committed back in 2017 to host 500 African refugees stranded in Libya.

Olivier Kayumba, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA), said the centre can currently host up to 300 refugees but it is being upgraded to accommodate 500.

"We are still open to taking in the initial 500 as promised. As you can see, works are ongoing. We are ready to receive more,” he said.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com