They left on two rubber rafts from Tripoli but they came from Senegal, Nigeria, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Siera Leone and the Ivory Coast. All men but for one woman ho had married her husband, who accompanied her, this year. The immigrants were piled on top of each other in the rafts which were rescued 60 nautical miles off the coast of Libya by a Danish container ship.
One Senegalese youth was wounded in the head because he had beaten with a stick by the traffickers before boarding. ( Sometimes the immigrants see that the boat or raft is overloaded and unsafe and are unwilling to board, but the traffickers need to pack them on to make their millions. ) The passengers are not allowed to wear shoes, bring any luggage or food. They are not issued life jackets. They are treated worse than animals, and that is saying something.
They smile for photographers once they touch land, perhaps happy to have survived the crossing. They know that many do not. If they knew the trouble they were in for, they might not smile. They think the streets of Europe are paved with gold, then they see Palermo.
One Senegalese youth was wounded in the head because he had beaten with a stick by the traffickers before boarding. ( Sometimes the immigrants see that the boat or raft is overloaded and unsafe and are unwilling to board, but the traffickers need to pack them on to make their millions. ) The passengers are not allowed to wear shoes, bring any luggage or food. They are not issued life jackets. They are treated worse than animals, and that is saying something.
They smile for photographers once they touch land, perhaps happy to have survived the crossing. They know that many do not. If they knew the trouble they were in for, they might not smile. They think the streets of Europe are paved with gold, then they see Palermo.