Stories of survivors

 Yes, 18, told us that in El-Fasher, Sudan, “there is no way out, and there is no way for food to get in. People…children…die so hungry. Killing is a normal thing there.”

“If someone sees me on the road, maybe he will kill me. You can’t go in, you can’t go out,”

For *Nirvan from Nepal, being rescued marked the end of a staggering 14-month journey across six countries, and the first moment he felt his life was no longer in danger.

Xidig, 27, is from Somalia and describes the situation in his country: “Every morning there is no peace, there is no food, there is no knowledge, no school, no respect, no medical [care], you know? […] Al Shabab killed my father, so that’s why I’m always scared, I’m always afraid of Al-Shabab…there is no life in Mogadishu.”

Syed, a 35 year-old man from Pakistan, spent five years in Libya including two years in detention in complete isolation. During these two years he suffered torture and sexual violence. 

Kosey* was nearly 24 years old when he was rescued by the Ocean Viking on the October 30, 2024, along with 24 men in the Maltese-Tunisian Search and Rescue Region, following an alert by Alarm Phone (a hotline for boats in distress).