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On board the open arsenals of the Mediterranean Sea (PA) – Izzeddin's first attempt Ghalban to reach Europe ends when the boat engine is dead. The Libyan Coast Guard thwarted his second. After a third try, the 23-year-old man sat on the deck of a relief ship from a Spanish aid group as he headed for Barcelona , recognizing that he has finally succeeded.
"Libya is a hell," al-Ghalban told The Associated Press on Tuesday aboard the Open Arms, a ship run by the Proactiva Open Arms charity.
The Palestinian boy from Gaza was one of 60 migrants rescued on Saturday from a rubber boat floating in waters off the Libyan coast, a scenario that was repeated over and over again on the sea Mediterranean in recent years
These rescues become more and more complicated after the new Italian government closed its ports. Open Arms, de facto calling them "taxi services" for human smugglers operating in Libya.
The aid groups deny any connection with the smugglers, claiming that they are trying to save lives in the midst of a human catastrophe. Thousands of people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in fragile ships since 2015.
After the island of Malta also refused permission to dock, Spain accepted for the second time this summer to receive a vessel carrying migrants "I saw the Spanish boat in my dreams," said Judith Widianou, who fled violence in the Central African Republic with her partner and their child from 9 years. son. "I am so happy, it's as if God had come to me."
His son sported a FC Barcelona football jersey, which had been given to him by the crew of the Open Arms
"If a person leaves his country, it is because he there is a danger there, "said Widianou. "Italy must calm her heart and do what she did before (save and welcome the migrants.) For the love of God."
On the trip to Spain, migrants rest while others learn Spanish, writing vocabulary words and phrases in crumpled notebooks.
The ship is expected to arrive in Barcelona on Wednesday. Migrants will have 45 days to apply for asylum in Spain or in other countries of the European Union. Many have relatives in Germany, Belgium and France
Honoree Bitcha said that he was hoping to get refugee status in Spain.
The 39-year-old man left his native Cameroon in 2014 to look for work. He said his parents died when he was young, leaving him and five younger brothers and sisters to fend for themselves.
Like many migrants who end up in Libya, Bitcha said he was enslaved and tortured by criminal gangs.
Tears ran down his cheeks, Bitcha knelt down to show how his captors had whipped him by forcing him to talk to his brother on a cell phone. They wanted his brother to hear his screams after each whip, said Bitcha. The torture continued until his brother could pay his ransom in full, he said.
No wonder his brother was thrilled when Bitcha called him from the Open Arms on a phone that he had borrowed from a crew member. it's Spain that allows me to stay, I'm counting on that, "said Bitcha." Because they let me go, I do not know what I'll do with my life. "
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press All rights reserved, This document may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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