Illustration Image
Johanna de Tessieres / SOS MEDITERRANEE
Mali
Country
8 Y.O.
Age
03.14.2024
Rescue Date

Ali*, an 8-year-old unaccompanied minor, was rescued by the Ocean Viking teams from an overcrowded rubber boat in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region on March 14, 2024, along with 87 other people.

“My name is Ali*. I’m 8 years old and from Tambaga in Mali. In my country, I used to go to school. About a year ago I left Mali with another boy whom I lost track of when I arrived in Libya. I went through Algeria before arriving in Libya. I walked in the desert for about a month with my friend. On the way, I worked. I did welding and painting. In Libya, I slept in the street in Sabratha. I was often beaten up because I’m black. I heard that people were crossing the Mediterranean to escape Libya, so I decided to do the same. This is the second time I’ve tried to cross the Mediterranean. The first time, the Libyan Coast Guards arrested me and put me in a jail** called Ain Zara. I stayed there for several months. I was scared. I had no money to go out, to eat. Two adults helped me escape.”

*Name changed for anonymity
**survivors refer to both official and unofficial detention centers as “prison” or “jail”

Illustration
Johanna de Tessieres / SOS MEDITERRANEE
Drawing of the Ocean Viking made by Ali, while on board

Latest testimonies

Sunset over the sea viewed from a ship’s deck, with soft clouds and orange light in the sky.

Drissa

Drissa, age 25, left Mali due to violent attacks by armed groups in his village. On February 23, 2025, he was rescued from a fiberglass boat in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region. His account reflects the risks faced by many individuals fleeing conflict in the Sahel region.

A man embraces a woman on a ship’s deck, both wearing dark hats and facing the open sea.
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Charles Thiephaine

Samia and Nari

SOS MEDITERRANEE rescue: Kidnapped in Libya, defrauded of $16k, Yazidi newlyweds Samia and Nari still chase a safe future for their first child.

Two people lean through a window-like opening on a ship, looking outside toward the light.
Charles Thiefaine / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Mohamed

From Lebanon to Libya to the Mediterranean: Mohamed’s survival, the loss of a child, and his dream to study safely in Norway.