FIJ
Many Nigerians have lost their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and earn a living in Europe, as migrants often experience violence and mishaps.
According to The Migrant Project, an organisation that informs potential and transit migrants about the risks and realities of irregular migration, there have been numerous official reports of hundreds of corpses found in the Sahara in recent years.
A migrant once spoke of how two Nigerian lost their lives while journeying through the desert.
“On our way from Niger to Saba, our vehicle had a breakdown in the desert,” the migrant said.
“We were with two Nigerian women in the vehicle, and the driver told us all to come down and push the vehicle. The women said they were women and the sun was hot so they should be excused. The driver stabbed both of them to death.”
For Nigerians with the plans of embarking on such journeys, five main issues have been identified as the dangers migrants face while journeying through irregular routes to Europe.
EXPLOITATION
Smugglers lie about the safety of the route and modes of transport, particularly boats, just to exploit desperate migrants. In 2022, the United Nations sanctioned human traffickers for their crimes.
In the same year, Adaora, a 22-year-old Nigerian, was abandoned by her smuggler alongside 50 other migrants and left to die in the desert. They were reported to have died of starvation and thirst as smugglers do not always allow migrants to carry water during such journeys. The smuggler had collected the fees for his services from the migrants before he disappeared.
KIDNAPPING AND THEFT
Migrants are regularly kidnapped while crossing Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Libya. While in captivity, the kidnappers call the migrants’ families to demand for ransom. This often happens in the Sahara Desert and is sometimes planned in advance with drivers selling the migrants to kidnappers for large sums of money. Migrants are often tortured so that their families can make timely payments in exchange for their freedom.
According to Azam, a 30-year-old Nigerian, masked kidnappers once stormed the truck he was travelling in alongside 30 other migrants, killing the driver and three passengers.
The migrants were subsequently tortured by their captors until their families paid the ransom they demanded.
ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DEATH
Three in four children and young adults trying to migrate from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe through the Mediterranean face various forms of abuse and exploitation on their journey. They often face torture, isolation and incarceration.
People smugglers in sub-Saharan Africa now inject underage migrant girls with harmful contraceptives due to the very high risk that they will be raped on their journey from Africa to Europe.
According to a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 1,200 children die while trying to cross the sea and make it to Europe. Half of these lives were said to have perished in the sea.
