Interviewer: You recently returned from the United States, where you spent several weeks promoting the film "Io Capitano", which was nominated for an Oscar. How was your experience there?

Mamadou Kouassi: It was very intense, there was a promotional campaign for the Oscars, and there were many interviews to try to get people talking about the film in order to try to win the statuette. Yet the main objective was not to win the Oscar, but to shed more light on the issue of migrants and refugees.

 [Editor's note: The film was officially nominated for the Oscars 2024 category "Best International Feature", but the award went to "The Zone of Interest" by Jonathan Glazer.]

We had the support of many celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg, who came to see our film. There was also the touching support of people from various diasporas, like the African one based in the United States. I had a lot of interesting encounters.

It was important to promote the film, so that it could bring the issue of refugees back into the public debate. It’s a constant struggle.

You were born in a village in Ivory Coast. How was your life before you decided to leave?

I was born in Damé in eastern Ivory Coast. I grew up with a lot of Ivorians and Ghanaians, because we were near the border with Ghana.

Growing up, I played football, went to school and helped my parents who worked on cocoa and coffee farms, because we were poor. It was hard, but we had to do it to help the family. Growing up with my cousin Emmanuel, we began talking about leaving the country and spontaneously going somewhere else.

We dreamt of becoming professional soccer players in Europe and of helping our families. We were young people who wanted a better life; we wanted to reach Europe at any cost. We started working at the age of 16 to save money, get a passport and try to get a visa, but the context was very difficult at that time. We heard of many people filing applications, but never succeeding.

Later we learned that some people were traveling up the continent through the desert in an effort to get to Europe. This was a way out for us. We had no idea of the danger this entailed or of what could happen to us on this journey to Europe.

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When you were 17 years old, you left Ivory Coast with the idea of reaching Europe…

We first left home to go to Ghana. From eastern Ghana, we traveled in trucks and buses to the north, to the border with Burkina Faso. We then arrived in Niger, where we were questioned by the police. I told them I was going to Niamey to try to earn a living playing soccer. I had my soccer shoes and all my belongings to prove it. The police left us alone, but we had to pay them as we left to get our belongings back.

People approached us in Niamey, to ask us if we wanted to go to Libya. We accepted, and the smugglers took us to a house in Arlit [in northwestern Niger]. We waited to learn how the trip would proceed. We had to pay a lot of money, around 500 dollars [461 euros] per person.

Every two hours, the driver stopped to ask us for money, and sell us water and food. We had no choice. The journey was slow, and we were at the mercy of the driver. For two weeks, it was hell. It was also incredibly hot. One day, no one had any more money. At that point, the smugglers told us: "This is where my work ends. Walk straight ahead and in two weeks you will be in town in Libya." There were nearly 30 migrants, we were exhausted, thirsty and completely demoralized.

Read more: 'Seven wasted years': Senegalese migrant's struggle for justice in Italy

The ordeal continued…

It was tragic in Libya, it was there that we hit rock bottom. We saw people dying every day. It was hell on earth: There are bandits who attack migrants, rape women and force them to drink things which induce vomiting or diarrhea to see if they haven’t hidden anything in their anus. Anyone who refuses is shot. It was a real ordeal.

I was separated from my cousin halfway through the trip. I was imprisoned, and I no longer had any news from Emmanuel. I was desperate, feeling like I had reached rock bottom. I saw my dreams evaporate. I saw people being tortured in prison. I was told that if I found money, I could leave, but I had no way of contacting my family.

One day, a person a little older than me who had been there longer told me: "There are people who come and can buy you to work for them." We were treated like slaves, it was crazy. I was desperate, I couldn't stop thinking about my cousin -- I wanted to know if he was still alive.

One morning, a slightly older person told the guards that with my talent, I could do brick-laying with him. He saved my life.

After eight months [in prison], I went to work on construction sites. I wanted to earn money to escape, to survive, and also try to find my cousin.

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Did you find your cousin, and how did you leave Libya?

I found him a year and a half after our arrival in Libya. It was a great joy and relief. I found hope again. We worked together on construction sites in Tripoli. I spent three years in Libya and was imprisoned four times.

Each time, we had to pay a deposit, which costs 300, 400 dollars. We saved money to leave, but our money was constantly taken from us.

For three years, I felt persecuted, because I was treated like an animal.

We started to contact smugglers, and we were afraid of the water, the sea, and of drowning in the Mediterranean. I didn't know how to swim.

We exchanged numbers with people who were leaving for Europe, and the silence and waiting to know if they had successfully crossed was very heavy. Most of the time, we had no news. The smugglers just told us: "This boat sank and everyone drowned", with disturbing coldness. My cousin and I were petrified.

One day in November 2008, I took a seat in a boat with a very young migrant at the helm. We were all terrified, but the smugglers forced us into the boat. It was a very basic boat, a type of Zodiac. It was very unstable. After two days of sailing, we felt the sea becoming very rough, and the boat split in two. People died, but others managed to hang on to pieces of the boat. Fishermen signaled our situation to the authorities in Lampedusa. After three hours in the water, we were rescued by NGO workers and Italian authorities.

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Your hardships continued in Italy before you can become a cultural mediator...

The authorities in Lampedusa took charge of us, and I spent two days on [the Italian island] before being transferred to Rome. I received a phone card in Lampedusa and I called my family to tell them I was alive. It was a huge relief.

It was very difficult to find a job in Rome, and I also had to learn Italian. I moved to different parts of Italy, I even thought about moving to France, but I decided to stay in Italy despite several threats of expulsion. It was not easy to regularize my situation, because the procedures are long and difficult.

After spending some time in Rome, I went to Naples and I finally settled in Caserta [a city located 35 kilometers north of Naples]. I worked as a laborer and later as a translator to help other migrants. I am now a mediator and social worker, committed to speaking about the cause of migrants, helping improve their rights and the aid provided to refugees.

The film was applauded by critics, and many celebrities like Brad Pitt have spoken highly of it. What was it like to suddenly be in the spotlight?

It was nice, but more importantly, the film is about a subject that is too often ignored. Refugees are human beings who must be helped and supported, rather than criticized and judged. The migration policies of governments are becoming increasingly strict, with migrants being blamed and criticized for all the ills [in society]. It’s inhumane, unfair and racist.

 Since the film's release, there has been a push for it to be used as an educational tool in schools in Italy. Several regions will show it in classes to talk about and explain the situation of migrants to young people. That is the most important thing in my opinion: We must talk about this subject to young people, show that mutual aid between humans is essential, and avoid demonizing migrants.