EYASIN

Eyasin is a 20-year-old Bangladeshi who left when he was 16 and came to us when he was 18. He wanted to enrol in mathematics in Dhaka, but his family pushed him to leave: they needed to invest in a relative who would earn for everyone, and he was chosen. They raised 1,000 euros and Eyasin left.

At first, a normal trip, Kuwait, Dubai, and Egypt, by plane. But in North Africa, Eyasin understands that to enter Europe you have to turn to traffickers who operate mainly in one hub: Libya.

“I entered Libya in the trunk of a car where there were weapons. I worked at night, during the day it was too dangerous, there were many guns circulating. One day the mob took us to a kind of camp, then they wanted money to free us; they gave us a piece of bread and a glass of water a day.”

And then beatings, beatings, torture.

Terror spreads among the migrants, some come to despair. “One friend found a razor blade and cut his throat. No one could help him, while for them he was one less,” who had already paid. Eyasin, with six of his friends, runs away. “We dug a hole in the sand. But near the sea the police started shooting.” So Eyasin, who cannot swim, jumps into the water, “I stayed inside, I only left my mouth out.” And he is saved.

But more money is needed. “I called my mother, she was crying, she understood that I had ended up in hell, but it was too late, she had to think about it first.”

And then the barge. The risk of dying in the water. The violent uncertainty. “I work in a supermarket, I help my family and my sister with university,” but he is still waiting for the asylum board.