Voices-from-the-sea-cover

[Watch] “Everyday we hear the sound of guns”

Country
Age
09.1.2025
Rescue Date

In this video, some of the 116 people rescued by the OceanViking in March 2021 recount their experiences during their migration journeys: from fleeing their homes to the horrors of detention in Libya, to crossing the central Mediterranean.

 

Photography/Editing/Interview: Anthony Jean / Laurence Bondard / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Latest testimonies

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Javier Alvarez/SOS MEDITERRANEE

Syed

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. 

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Kosey

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).

Three people in silhouette stand at the railing of a ship, looking out over a calm ocean under a cl
Alisha Vaya / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Yamal, Joseph, and Visca

Yamal, Visca, and Joseph are 16, 17, and 17, respectively. The three are Somali and met in Libya after fleeing violence and extreme poverty. They were rescued the night of February 23, 2025 near an oil platform in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region.