Keita* (15) is from Guinea. From there, he made his way to Tunisia via Mali, Algeria and Libya. In July 2023 SOS Humanity could rescue him trying to cross the Mediterranean. Aboard Humanity 1 he tells our crew about his attempts to get to Europe for a better life, his experiences in prisons in Libya and the racism and violence Black people are facing in Libya and Tunisia.  

I’m my father’s first son. My father has at least seven children and two wives. My mum passed away. My father and his older brother look after the family. The two of them work in the shop, selling things to feed us. But there aren’t enough resources for my father and his brother to look after the whole family. It’s not easy in Africa, conditions are very difficult. There’s unemployment, we look for work, but we can’t find any.

I decided it was necessary to take responsibility. My father couldn’t fall ill. Who’s going to take charge? I’m a student, I studied in Guinea until the twelfth grade. During the holidays, I tried to find the money [for the trip]. When school started, I left. My father didn’t know about it. They called me. But I didn’t pick up. I came to Mali and Algeria, ending up at the border between Libya and Algeria. At this time, I was looking for money because I ran out of it. We worked there.

From Algeria, we left in lorries, with cows inside. We were on top of the lorries, we were tired. They opened the big containers, to let us in, twenty-four people. Then they packed us up and locked us in. It was very, very difficult there. You can’t even imagine that people are inside.

“Three attempts, three times in prison.”

I came to Libya. After three weeks, I started to work. After a month, they called me to say that there was a departure being prepared, to cross the Mediterranean, that if I was ready, we would go to Italy. They were asking us for seven million Guinean Francs for the boat. We were 150 people, one foot in the water, one foot in the boat. We were on the water for three days. A Libyan boat came and caught us and put us in prison.

Osama is the name of the prison. They’re bandits, the people who caught us on the water. They shot at the Ocean Viking, a rescue ship, they shot in the air.

We were beaten up and tied up. I was in prison for some days or a week. My father brought the money. I paid 3,500 Libyan Dinar for the departure. Now I was paying another 3,500 Dinar to get out of prison, otherwise I’d die inside. My father said to me, whatever happens, he would get me out, he would take out a loan. So, I left.

After that again, I did three departures from Libya. Each time, the Libyans caught us. Three attempts, three times in prison. They torture you. It’s a business, it’s like theft, if you’re Black, they’ll come in and take you at night.

Racism and Violence in Tunisia

I took the road to Tunisia on foot, but it is a long way there. It took me three days. Over there, they’re not used to seeing Blacks. They ran away as if we were savages. We tried to leave again and the Tunisian national guard caught us. There were 47 of us. The national guard hit one of the women. [The man at the started the engine suddenly and took off with a few people on board. They chased them but couldn’t catch them. They made it as far as Italy.

We asked [the Tunisian national guard] to let us go. The weather was very, very good. We asked them whether they were Europeans or Africans. How can an African stop another African from going off to find the life he’s looking for? Here in a country where there’s no money, I didn’t set out to be a vagabond or to steal or to rape. I left for a better life.

We saw a boat coming, a fishing boat that told us to stop, that called for a big ship to come and rescue us, to save us all. The fishing boat gave us four cans of water.

Then I saw your ship coming. When I saw you, I said, “That’s Humanity there. I was so happy.”

[For the future,] my goal is to go to Europe and study. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to be a translator. I speak Malinké in Guinea, and I speak French. That is my dream. I want to continue my studies and be a translator, and then take care of my family, because my family’s only hope right now is me.

I would advise the organisations to always keep rescue boats on the Mediterranean. Only one boat is very, very difficult. [Also, to go to a faraway port in the north of Italy every time] is not a good solution. The port has to be close, you have to leave the port and come back to the Mediterranean.

Life isn’t easy. You always have to fight, especially in the North African countries. But God helped us. I’m very, very happy.

This interview was carried out in French, recorded and translated by Sasha Ockenden, SOS Humanity’s Communications Coordinator on board Humanity 1.