Over the past few days, Libya's coast guard has rescued two boats in distress off the coast of Garabulli in Tripolitania. The 215 migrants on board, including many children, women, and seniors, were taken back to Tripoli.
Two boats with 215 migrants on board were rescued by the Libyan coast guard off the coast of the North African country.The boats had been in distress for over 15 hours due to bad weather when they were rescued. All passengers were taken back to Libya.
Up to 3,000 euros paid for the trip
''Two boats carrying about 215 migrants, in the middle of the sea north-east of Tripoli 12 optical miles north of Garabulli, have been identified'', said Colonel Abuajila Omar Abdulbari of the Libyan coast guard. The rescue operation was part of a joint cooperation between Libyan and Italian coast guards with the latter involved in search-and-rescue efforts. Despite poor weather conditions, those on board were rescued and landed at a naval base in Tripoli. They will be transferred to a detention center in Tajoura.
The migrants hailed from Morocco, Syria and Egypt, among other countries. They had been stranded at sea for over 15 hours during a storm without food or water for more than 15 hours when they were rescued. The two vessels had departed from the area of Al-Khums, 57 kilometers from Garabulli. Each of the migrants had reportedly paid between 1,000 and 3,000 euros to get on the boat.
''I will never try again''
Hassan Rashed, a Syrian, was on one of the two boats with his family of nine. ''We have been living in Libya for 30 years, but we decided to go to Europe and leave Libya because of the poor living and health conditions, and we can't go to Syria'', he said. ''My wife suffers from bad health conditions and needs good treatment. We paid 4,200 Libyan dinars each. We sold all our property in Libya and we owe money to pay for the cost of the trip. We were treated in an indecent and uncivilized way by the smugglers, they put us in an animal shed for more than 24 hours, and did not provide any food or drinks. I do not know what to do now. We have seen death with our own eyes until we were rescued by the coast guard. I will never try again''.
Another Syrian migrant left with his three sons. ''My sons were born and grew up in Libya, but we cannot live here anymore'', he explained. ''My son's studies were stopped for more than two years because of the university's suspension as a result of the clashes and the bad security situation''. (Picture shows migrants in the port of Tripoli after they were rescued at sea.
Text by: Zuhair Abusrewil | ANSA