For many parents the
story is one of tragedy mixed with hope. Sadness at watching a family
member leave but mixed with the hope that they will be able to remit money to
their virtually destitute relatives back home. It will be many weeks, if not
months, before they will learn of the success or failure of the migrant.
Perhaps they will never hear from them. Nor see them ever again. It
is a risk that all are prepared to take because there are few, if any, other
options that might result in success.
A phone call from an unknown number to a parent brings
relief at the thought that perhaps this is the call from the traveler to
announce that she is in Europe. It is far too soon for her to have found
employment thinks the parent as they answer the phone. An unknown voice speaks. It tells the parent that the traveler is
safe. The parent sighs with relief. The voice continues with the news that the
migrant wishes to speak to her parent.
Silence follows. A beloved voice
is heard. For a moment the father can
not understand what she is saying.
Garbled words fall into his ear remaining confused as he attempts to
unravel them. Five thousand US dollars,
seven days, torture, death. How is this
possible? the father wonders. How can
his daughter be demanding money from them.
She knows their situation. Then
slowly he begins to understand.
She has been kidnapped by Bedouins. Held with many other from the Sudan, Eritrea
and other northern Africa countries she has
already suffered torture and has come to realize that her kidnappers will
follow through with their threats if their demands are not met. For her parents there is little hope of them
being able to meet the stipulated amount.
If they had anything of value to sell they have done so long before the
daughter left home. They are virtually
destitute. There is no bank account to
draw even a few dollars from, nor are there animals to sell. The kidnappers might as well have asked Bill
Gates to give them all the money in the US treasury! With an overwhelming sense of terror the
parents hear the stranger inform them that the next time they speak to their
daughter might be the last. The call
ends.
These events are not fiction. They did not happen years ago. They are happening even as I write. As people flee the war torn regions, and the
desperately poor areas of northern Africa they
have few choices but to use the avenues open to them. Payments are made and the guides have to be
trusted. Being a hostage must be terrifying regardless of who is holding you for ransom. Yet knowing that apart from a few family members no one cares whether you live or die must add an extra layer of terror to the situation. Even when ransoms are paid they are often not handed back to families. These victims
will be tortured. Melted plastic poured
on thighs and other parts, being forced
to lie in water and being shocked, having a body part cut off, diesel poured on
them and then set alight these are some of the acts of violence that have been perpetrated
on hostages from Africa. Some of the
hostages have been taken from refugee camps by guards and thugs, others have been taken in the Sinai whilst
trying to get into Israel. Regardless of where they have been taken over
seven thousand people had been tortured and over four thousand died
between 2009 and October 2012 (Source New York Times). That is four people each day that died
as a result of torture. The situation in the Horn of Africa stands at 15% of migrants are kidnapped during their migration. Number of deaths is unclear. After all if the person vanishes how would their family know where along a dangerous route they died, or indeed if they died.
The victims are innocent.
One could argue that they should never leave home. If there is knowledge of the risks then why
would anyone even attempt to get into Europe
using this route? If refuge camps are
where some of the hostages are being taken from then why don’t the authorities
control the camps better? Why? Why? Why?
The questions are many. I listened to a
young man on a call with a BBC journalist who is a hostage. The voice was saturated with the horror of
his situation. I have never heard so
much anguish in a person’s words. A
living hell is where the man finds himself with no escape route other than the
faint hope that if the ransom is paid he will be released. The village he came from did pay a portion of
the ransom. At which point the
kidnappers sold him on to another group of kidnappers. The danger to children and women is greater.
If the kidnap victims survive their choices are return home or attempt to continue or try to stay where ever they find themselves. No money, few skills, desperate these children, women and men continue to exist in harrowing conditions. The resilience they have to find within themselves is incredible.
These are brave individuals who have decided to try and find a better life. They do not wait for the “hand outs” or the charity of others to help them. Unlike the comfortable, the settled, the ones not in danger of starving/violence/unrelenting poverty etc the migrants, who are, trek across countries, seas and seek new lives. As with most migrants they, more than most, know that nothing comes for free. They are searching for only that which most people in the receiving nations have and give little thought to. No one can deny their courage. No one can deny their determination. Are those not the very qualities we look for in our fellow citizens? Are they not the characteristics we encourage in each generation?
Perhaps in the decades ahead the descendants of these immigrants will be the dynamic policy makers that will change the world for the better. They certainly have the courage to confront an uncertain future by taking action.
No comments:
Post a Comment