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. 

Yamal 

Yamal was only 12 years old when he left Somalia after a bomb explosion near his home. He ended up in Sudan, where he lived on the streets for over a year. Hungry, he sometimes followed dogs to find food scraps. When he arrived in Libya, an old man hosted him in exchange for his work as a goat keeper.  

Joseph 

Joseph was 16 years old when he left Somalia. He says he can’t live in a place where there is criminality and no education or health. His dream is to get a decent job and a house, and one day visit Switzerland, which he has seen in photos.  “I just want to live in security and peace [and have] an opportunity to educate myself.” 

Visca 

Visca left Somalia at 15 years old. He’s always known that Somalia was violent. He says there are constant tribal clashes, making the whole country unsafe as they fight over land and steal from people. Members of Al-Shabab, the jihadist terrorists in Somalia, constantly bomb public spaces, such as churches, hospitals, schools. Nowhere is safe. “You live today but you don’t know if you will be alive tomorrow.”When he arrived in Libya, he and his friends were imprisoned in detention centres where they were filmed while being tortured to force their families to pay a ransom. His friend was killed when he wasn’t able to gather the money that the Libyans demanded. Visca had to work for his jailors, as his family didn’t have enough money to pay for his release. “I saw my friend get killed by in front of me”, he told us. He dreams of playing football again, and he would like to one day become a lawyer.  His wish now is to tackle the world of human rights abuses are happening in Libya.  “The world needs to know people how are being treated in Libya. Politicians need to do something. It needs to stop.” Photo by Alisha Vaya