Meet Malick
Malick in Lampedusa, Italy. April 2017. ©Pamela Kerpius/Migrants of the Mediterranean
by
Pamela Kerpius
Recorded:
28 April 2017
Published:
2017
Meet Malick.
17 years old and from Serekunda, Gambia.
To reach Lampedusa he crossed six countries: The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the most dangerous of all, Libya.
His journey took almost eight months. He traveled to Agadez, Niger for two weeks, then remained in the city for another two weeks working.
Malick crossed the Sahara desert in the back of a pickup truck with 23 people; he had two liters of water to drink.
The first city he arrived in after the desert was Sigaden (city name and spelling not verified), where he stayed hidden for three days. He transferred to Sabha, Libya and remained there for three weeks. Arab men attacked the camp. He said it was not safe.
He escaped from Sabha and traveled for nine days to Tripoli. He stayed in the Tripoli city limits for two weeks working, completing different tasks around the garden and house. He was usually not paid. With whatever money he had, much of which he saved since his time in Sabha, he bought his own food and water.
He left Tripoli for Sabratha, where he stayed in the coastal camp for five months, where there were about 500 people.
Malick crossed the Mediterranean Sea on a Friday at midnight in a rubber dinghy with 141 people, including one baby, and 21 women, five of whom where pregnant. He was out to sea for 12 hours.
He was rescued by the Guardia Costiera and brought to Lampedusa, arriving at 6:00am sometime during the Easter weekend, April 2017.
Malick is an amazing human being.