The next attempt I paid 700 dollars and this time they did actually get me on a boat at Tripoli. We were 30-40 people in an open dingy with just some gas, biscuits and water. We set off in the evening about 9pm. All you see in the boat is the sky – you’re pinned in like sardines. I was scared, didn’t how long we were in the water – no horizon – just sky. Sea was rough and water came into the boat – we had to use Gerry cans to bail out. The fuel left in the cans got all over our skin and burnt us. I felt burning all over my body. Engine stopped and the Captain tried to mend it. We were petrified that he’d lose an important bit of the engine, we all froze in case we accidentally budged him – two or three times this happened. We were at sea about two days – we got lost and met some Italian fishing boats but they wouldn’t let us board – they said we were too many and we’d sink their boats. They called the Italian Coastguard. We were so tired and hungry, we fell asleep in the boat. A boat finally came, but from Tripoli. They told us they were taking us to Italy, but they tied our wrists with cable ties and took us back to Tripoli. To be honest all I could think was at least we were alive – I’d been sure I was going to die. When we got to Tripoli, they put us into prison.
