Hassan Ali, a 23-year-old migrant from Pakistan’s Punjab province, tells a story of how he nearly drowned in the Mediterranean Sea only holding a rope for dear life. He said, “I held onto it with my life,” referring to his rescue by a merchant navy ship off the island of Crete in Greece.
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Hassan’s parents mortgaged their land and gold jewellery and arranged a half million five lakh rupees seventy-one thousand dollars with a smuggler to take them to Europe. However, after weeks of detention in a small enclosed space in Libya, he was put on a cramped wooden ship. ”There is no going back,” this is what he was told. “Either go forward or die.” As they sailed through stormy waters, the boat’s engine malfunctioned and they flipped over after 40 anxious hours on the sea.
Despite the ordeal, Hassan survived while many others drowned. Pakistani authorities reported at least five deaths, while 47 nationals were rescued. The tragedy highlights the perils faced by thousands of migrants. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 180,000 people attempted the dangerous sea route to Europe this year, with nearly 3,100 Pakistani migrants arriving in Greece and Italy.
Now living in a refugee camp near Athens, Hassan urges others not to follow his path. “After what we have experienced, I only implore people to never take this route. It is not worth the risk.” For those like Hassan, the dream of dignity in a foreign land often comes at an unimaginable cost.
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