Meet Alkali
Alkali (Gambia) in Lampedusa, Italy. 28 April 2017. ©Pamela Kerpius/Migrants of the Mediterranean
by:
Pamela Kerpius
Recorded:
28 April 2017
Published:
2017
Revised:
1/10/25
Meet Alkali.
17 years old and from Serekunda, Gambia.
To reach Lampedusa he crossed six countries: The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the most dangerous of all, Libya.
In total, his journey took about one year. He traveled for one week to Agadez, Niger, then stayed in the city working for two weeks.
He crossed the Sahara desert in three days with two liters of water. There were 23 people in his pickup truck, one of whom died. When the truck stopped to bury the dead, it was robbed.
He arrived in Sabha, Libya where he remained in a compound with over 300 people for two months. There was some sort of fight with a Libyan man at the compound and Alkali was taken to prison. He was beaten regularly and held ransom for money, but there was no money to call for so he endured. Then, after five months, he escaped.
“I [was] thinking I would die.”
He bypassed Tripoli and traveled directly to the coastal camp of Sabratha, where he remained for five months. There was scant food and water, including only salty tap water to drink and mixture of flour and tap water to make a crude pasta. He slept outside since there was no shelter, nor did he ever leave camp, since doing so would increase his risk of getting kidnapped or caught and taken to prison.
There were around 300-400 people at the site in Sabratha, and although he found work from a Libyan man, the circumstances were violent. He was beaten every day he worked for him, “I [was] thinking I would die,” said Alkali.
Alkali crossed the Mediterranean Sea in a rubber dinghy with 141 people, including 21 women, five of whom where pregnant, and one baby. Altogether, he was at sea for 12 hours before being rescued by the Guardia Costiera. He landed in Lampedusa at 6:00 a.m. on 16 April 2017.
Alkali is an amazing human being.