Samir and Sonia

The story of young Eritrean teachers Sonia and Samir is one of love. Sonia is Christian and Samir Muslim. They were deeply in love, but her parents forbade her from marrying him, and instead tried to force her into an arranged marriage.

To travel only between Eritrea and neighboring Sudan, a smuggler asked Samir and Sonia for a staggering US$1,000 per person (a teacher in Eritrea makes barely US$300 per month). They felt they had no choice, so they went along, walking across the Sahara desert for over three weeks, fainting several times from dehydration.

Once in Libya, they were asked for more money. Sonia was pregnant. Samir was beaten repeatedly by extortionists until he had to beg his family for financial help for their release.

In Tripoli, Sonia, went into labour and was denied assistance by the ambulance. The next day, still in labour right at the hospital door, Sonia was not allowed inside. She was told coldly, “No, there is no way we will let you inside the hospital.  No Christian people.”

The hospital then demanded they pay before taking Sonia in, so she lay on the floor in active labor outside the hospital, in the freezing cold, while begged on the streets of the capital.

Later on, Samir’s brother came to live with the couple and their baby. He was so affected by the abusive working conditions and how he was treated in Libya that he took his own life. After that, the family was kicked out from their accommodation under the threat of being killed. They weren’t allowed to pray for Samir’s brother nor recover their belongings and money.

That’s when they decided to take to the sea. After 29 hours without food or water, and with no navigation means on board, their boat was found by the Ocean Viking.

They both hope to work as teachers once again and have already begun teaching their young son about the power of love.