Japa: I Cleaned Bullets Daily In Libya, Slept In Middle Of Bombs – Human Trafficking Survivor Tells His Story

A human trafficking survivor, Alagie Kanteh, has talked about his experience when he attempted to travel to Europe.

The victim was the only survivor among the 11 of them that were trafficked to Italy.

He narrated his ordeal at an ECOWAS Parliament meeting with youths in Banjul, The Gambia.

According to the Italian returnee who left his country enroute Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso, it was a miracle that he was still alive.

He added that he had a terrible experience when he made it to Libya where he lived for four years from 2005 to 2009 before he returned to The Gambia.

According to him, “In Libya, we were arrested and kept in the cell for nine months. I couldn’t communicate with anybody in The Gambia.

“I was taken to Misrata-Misrata, a city in north-western Libya situated 187 km to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast to work.

“For six months, I was cleaning their bullets. I was sleeping in the place where they kept their bombs before I eventually ran away”.

He said earlier in Burkina Faso, they were attacked by bandits and taken to a cell where they were requested to pay 10,000 CFA before they were allowed to rejoin the bus they were travelling in.

“Then, we went to Agadez and met around 60 people there who joined us on the journey. Bandits attacked us and asked us all to get naked. They searched all of us and took all our money. We were naked from morning to evening”, he added.

Kanteh, who is now married with children, said he witnessed many deaths on his way to Italy.

He added that “As of now if you give me a visa, I am not going anywhere. I don’t have anything here, but I have peace.”

Daily Trust reports that despite recorded numbers of deaths, many Nigerians have continued to take the dangerous sea trip to Europe.

Described as “suicide mission”, many African migrants faced physical and emotion traumas travelling perilous routes, including the Sahara Desert.