Following calls for urgent action by MSF and other international organizations, Italian authorities finally permitted all remaining passengers to disembark on November 8. The group had spent 10 days at sea and three days waiting at port.
Here, three of the survivors share their stories:
Testimonies from the Geo Barents, Rotation 19, November 2022
Youssouf*
Youssouf was one of 215 survivors who were not allowed to leave the Geo Barents during the initial selective disembarkation in Catania on November 6. After waiting for hours to disembark, Youssouf, along with two others, jumped off the boat and swam to shore. He stayed on the dock, refusing to eat or drink, awaiting a decision from Italian authorities. He was officially permitted to enter Italy on November 8, along with the other remaining passengers from the Geo Barents.
“After days and days on that boat [Geo Barents] I was going insane. I had the feeling that my body and my dreams were breaking apart. I'm grateful for all the assistance I had onboard, but I couldn’t stand that situation anymore.
I left northern Syria to provide a safe life to my family. I have four daughters who I have left behind, hoping they can join me in Europe, in a safe place, soon. The youngest one is only six years old. They have witnessed bombs falling on our city in recent years, and now they can’t attend school due to the insecurity that persists in the area. Armed groups are everywhere, kidnapping people for ransom. The situation has spiraled out of control, and I fear for their lives every day.
I simply want to find a place where they can be free of fear and feel safe. That is my dream, and I will not let anyone take it away from me."
Akhtar*
Akhtar, age 21, left Bangladesh nearly two years ago, traveling first to Syria, then to Libya, and ultimately across the Mediterranean Sea. Akhtar was on a crowded wooden boat when he was rescued in late October by the Geo Barents. He was also among the group of passengers initially blocked from disembarking in Catania.
“We are a farming family. Life has always been difficult, but after my father was hurt a few years ago, things got even worse, because he was unable to work. I am aware of what anger feels like. I left Bangladesh to help [my family], to look after them. I want my younger brother and sister to go to school.
I had no idea how difficult this journey would be. I stayed in Libya for over a year, living in a camp with people from various countries. We were nine people sleeping in a ten-square-meter room, with only one toilet for over 200 or 300 people.
The police arrived at the camp, arrested many of us, and took me to prison. They gave me a phone after a few days and told me to call my family. I'll never forget my mother screaming on the phone as the guards threatened to cut my hand with a machete [unless we paid a ransom]. My family eventually sent the only money they had to free me.
I will never forgive myself for causing all of this pain to my mother. I haven’t heard from my family since. They do not know if I drowned in the sea. I just want to call them and tell them I survived.”