A ‘miracle’: Pakistani man survives deadly Mediterranean Sea crossing migration

Islamabad, Pakistan – When Hassan Ali fell into the icy waters of the Mediterranean Sea, he thought about both of his children – about their smiles, their embrace and his hopes for their future.

Then he remembered others from his small village in Pakistan’s Punjab province who had dreamed of going to Europe and wondered if they too had spent their last moments in the black sea thinking of home and the people they had lost. They had left it behind. ,

“I’ve heard about many others,” says Hassan, speaking on a borrowed phone from Malakassa, a refugee camp near Athens. He is unable to swim and says he felt certain he would drown.

Just then, he felt a rope thrown from a merchant navy ship. “I maintained it with my life,” he says.

Hassan was the first person pulled overboard near the Greek island of Crete on the morning of Saturday, December 14. Many others would also be involved during the two-day rescue operation, which involved nine ships including the Greek Coast Guard as well as merchant navy ships and helicopters.

But not everyone made it.

Following four separate rescue operations by the coast guard over the weekend, Greek authorities confirmed at least five deaths and more than 200 survivors, although the total number of people missing is unclear.

Three boats carrying migrants capsized between 14 and 15 December near the island of Gavdos, which is south of Crete, and another boat capsized near the Peloponnese peninsula.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that bodies of five Pakistani nationals were recovered, while at least 47 Pakistanis were rescued. The Pakistani Embassy in Athens said at least 35 Pakistani nationals were missing.

‘Live with dignity’

Hasan’s journey began about three-and-a-half months ago when the 23-year-old left his wife and two young sons at their village near Gujarat’s major industrial city.

The third of five siblings, he worked as a steel fixer on construction sites, earning 42,000 rupees ($150) per month if he worked 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

But no matter how hard or long he worked, he struggled to survive as prices rose.

“My electricity bill would be between Rs 15,000 ($54) to Rs 18,000 ($64) (per month),” he says, “and groceries for my family, including my parents and two younger siblings.” The price will be almost the same.”

Hasan often had to take small loans at the end of the month to meet his expenses and was always worried about what would happen if there was an emergency in the family, such as an illness.

“It is impossible to live with dignity on such an income in Pakistan,” he says.

This led him to take desperate measures. “No one willingly risks their lives like this,” he says.

Hassan first talked to his wife, mother, and elder brother who suggested that he follow others in his village and try to reach Europe. His family agreed and decided to sell a small piece of land along with Hassan’s mother’s jewelery to raise funds for the journey.

He raised about two million rupees ($7,100) to pay an “agent” who promised safe passage to Europe. The family had heard about people who left but never arrived, but also about people who reached Italy safely within days of leaving Pakistan. Hassan felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

Just a few weeks later, he said goodbye to his family and took a flight from Sialkot to Saudi Arabia. He spent two days there before leaving for Dubai. From Dubai he flew to Egypt and from there he took his last flight to Benghazi, Libya.

‘Brutally beaten’

In Libya, Hassan was told he would be put on a boat that would take him to Italy, but instead, he was taken to a warehouse where more than 100 people were herded into a 6-metre by 6-metre (20-foot) Was imprisoned in. x 20 ft) room. Most of the men were from Pakistan. Many people were there for months.

The smugglers took Hassan’s phone, passport and bag, which contained some clothes, and the 50,000 rupees ($180) he was carrying with him.

Hassan says that Libyan and Sudanese guards kept an eye on him at all times and warned him not to make any noise.

“We got a piece of bread every day,” he says, “The guards allowed us to go to the bathroom for five minutes a day.”

He describes how anyone who complained about the lack of food or asked to use the toilet or shower was beaten with steel rods and PVC pipes.

“All we could do was look at each other or whisper to each other. If anyone made the slightest noise, the guards would pounce and beat them brutally,” he says.

Sometimes, the men begged to be sent back home. But that too will be met with violence.

Then, in early December, guards told the men that bad weather meant they would have to head to Greece instead of being sent to Italy. They were given 30 minutes to prepare to leave the room where they had been kept for months. Their phones and passports were returned to them.

‘Everyone started praying’

Hassan, who had never seen the sea before, was frightened. “I begged to be sent back to Pakistan, but they told us, ‘Can’t go back. Either move forward or die,'” he says.

Hassan explains that more than 80 people were crammed onto a dilapidated wooden boat designed to carry no more than 40 passengers.

The sea was treacherous. Hassan describes how “stormy winds and huge waves” left people “drenched and frightened”.

“The engines failed and everyone started praying,” he says, adding that he was convinced he was going to die.

Then, after spending 40 hours at sea, the boat capsized and Hassan and the others fell into the Mediterranean Sea.

“As soon as I fell into the water, my breathing stopped,” he says, recalling how he tried to remain calm.

“When I came up, miraculously I was able to grab the rope that was thrown by the ship to save us.”

Hassan says he collapsed when he was pulled onto the deck. He believes it is a miracle that he survived.

‘Not worth the risk’

Sadly, Hassan’s experience is not uncommon.

Gujarat, along with neighboring cities of Pakistan such as Sialkot, Jhelum and Mandi Bahauddin, is a hub for people trying to reach Europe. With land routes increasingly closed, many people are now turning to the dangerous sea route through Libya.

According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 190,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe this year, of whom 94 percent – ​​more than 180,000 – took the uncertain sea route.

UNHCR data also shows that this year, around 3,000 Pakistanis have reached European shores, mostly in Italy and Greece. Last year the figure was just over 8,000, representing a decline of at least 62 percent.

More than 700 people, including about 300 Pakistanis, died when the Adriana, an old fishing trawler, capsized near the Greek island of Pylos in June 2023, in one of the deadliest shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2023 was the deadliest year in the Mediterranean Sea since 2016, with more than 3,100 deaths due to drowning.

Now Hassan is in the Malacasa camp with the survivors of his shipwreck and others, including some survivors of the Adriana disaster.

He remains hopeful that he will be able to start some kind of work in the camp so that he can send money to his family, whom he talks to once a day when he is able to borrow the phone.

He has a message for anyone considering setting out on the same journey.

“After what we’ve experienced, I just urge people to never take this route,” he says. “It’s not worth the risk.”