Javier Alvarez/SOS MEDITERRANEE
Mercury*, 20 years old, had to leave Tigray due to the conflict. She decided to flee to Libya in the hope of finding work to support her family. Once in Libya, she was kidnapped and imprisoned several times.
“The smugglers took us to the Sahara desert and demanded money. After paying the smugglers, soldiers stopped us in the street and imprisoned us for a month in a prison in Koufra. Then they took us to Benghazi. We were transferred to another prison in Sirte, where we spent another month. Finally, they took us to Tripoli. The situation in prison was horrible, believe me.”
*The name has been changed to protect her anonymity.
