Lampedusa refugee ‘will never take this road again’

For many, it was a terrifying journey: migrants now tell Bild about their traumatic experiences on their way to Europe.

“I will never go down this road again and I will not recommend anyone to do so,” says 16-year-old Sanel from Gambia.

He saw many dead and dying people. “But if you drink too much water, you die,” says the teenager, who wants to work as a welder in Europe. “And even if you drink too much water at once, you die.”

He lost his friend in the desert. “He said, ‘Come on, bro, I can’t do this anymore.’

Why did Sanil make the dangerous journey? “I wanted to go to Europe because our presidents send their children there to learn.” This way he wants to finance his younger brother’s education in Gambia.

Abbas Bel also came to Lampedusa on a cheap welded boat. “We have a lot of talent in Africa, but there are no opportunities,” he explained to the German newspaper in fluent English.

Abu Bakr Sharif, an immigrant from Sierra Leone, said: He and his nephew had to spend four days at sea with 48 passengers. Reason: running out of gasoline. “At one point we drank sea water until the Coast Guard rescued us. My nephew was in the hospital at the time.”

The ferries are supposed to transport migrants from Lampedusa to Sicily. But the lines are long, there is no shade, and there is a shortage of food.