“You are living in constant fear”

Kai, our human rights observer, speaks to our guests aboard about their experiences. A father from Libya told him why his family had to leave the civil war country.

“There is no more life in Libya. The country has changed and with it the people. There are no prospects there. I have a wife and three children aged seven years, four years and five months.

I lived in Dubai with my family from 2005 to 2017 and I was able to travel without any problems. When we got back to Libya, nothing was like before.

Our house was destroyed in the war, we have nothing left. My son desperately needs surgery that he cannot get in Libya. I’ve tried everything and spent all of our remaining money on him.

My 4 year old son doesn’t really know me. Because we live in constant fear because of the civil war, I can’t even play with him. I can’t let my kids outside either because it’s too dangerous.

“One lives in constant terror in Libya.”

I just want my family to be fine. So I had to leave Libya.

I have known for a long time that many people come to my country to go to Europe, but I never thought that I would have to go. And I never thought I’d leave Libya like this. Some of my family and friends are still there and it hurts me a lot to leave Libya.”

— Father from Libya (45 years old) —

Statement from Kai:

What this family experienced is terrifying and disturbing. At the same time, it clearly shows how unsafe and unstable Libya has become as a result of the civil war. The conversations I have had with our guests so far show that the conditions in Libya are also catastrophic outside of the torture camps.