After witnessing too many deaths, Sheriff Targi *, 21, decided to leave Libya for Europe.
“We have seen killings and massacres because of the conflicts between the Tuareg and Thebes [ethnic minorities],” he says.
Targi is a Tuareg from the desert town of Ubari in southwestern Libya. Under Muammar Gaddafi, the Tuareg were marginalized – no government IDs were issued to them and access to public employment and services was restricted. Things did not improve after the dictator was fired.
In October 2019, Targi left home, traveling more than 1,000 miles to the coastal town of Zuwara. From there, he and about 200 others, mostly Syrians, Moroccans and Sudanese, crowded aboard an overloaded wooden boat and embarked on a dangerous 18-hour journey.
A decade after the Libyan revolution, more and more people are making the dangerous journey from Libya by boat. At the end of December, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had registered 386 Libyans arriving in Italy by sea in 2020, almost double the number reached in 2019. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees saw a 52% increase in Libyans who were arriving in Europe compared to 2019.
Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the IOM, says the increase in numbers is significant because it changes Libya’s position on the migration chain. “Libya has always been a transit country for migrants.”
Central with route
A weak economy, still affected by the coronavirus pandemic, contributes to fueling the exodus.
“The pandemic caused the economy to suffer and led to a reduction in oil and gas exports. There are also difficulties for Libyans to collect their pensions and there is a huge increase in youth unemployment, ”says Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR’s special envoy for the western and central Mediterranean.
Closure of borders and limited movement due to the Covid-19 blockade have affected people’s ability to win, he says. “They depended on border trade and smuggling things like cigarettes and fuel to get through.”
Cochetel predicts a continuous increase in Libyans leaving the country in 2021, if the economy does not improve. “Libyans tend to stay in their country, even as displaced people or seek help from relatives in Tunisia or Egypt,” he says. “But the socio-economic impact of the recent devaluation of the Libyan dinar needs to be monitored.”
Fears of corruption and security are also becoming pressure factors for Libyans.
Mousa Algunaidi of the Nedaa Organization for Human Rights and Community Development in Misrata says corruption within Libya’s various state apparatuses – split between two rival governments based in Tripoli and Benghazi – threatens basic services, such as be supplying electricity, and eroded the Libyans’ confidence in the state.
He added: “There are many security concerns for Libyans in cities such as Tripoli, Sirt and southern cities such as Murzuq. In addition, there is a rapid rise in prices and inflation, with banks and the finance ministry limiting cash withdrawals to between 500 and 1,000 Libyan dinars. [£280–£560]. ”
Algunaidi believes there is hope for Libya if all sides abide by the comprehensive peace agreement signed by the two conflicting governments in October. But Libya’s defense minister has already threatened to withdraw from the agreement.
“If there is a political agreement and full elections and the creation of a new constitution, the peace agreement will bring us benefits. This would certainly reduce the number of Libyans going to sea. It could even stop emigration completely. But if there is a new conflict like the one we saw in 2019, we will see the shores full of Libyans, ”he says.
After hours at sea, an Italian coast guard ship took Targi’s boat and finally arrived in Italy. “It simply came to our notice then. The boat was old. We were overloaded at sea for two days. The engine was weak. If the Coast Guard hadn’t found us, we would have died, “he said.
After being smuggled into France, Targi took a train to Belgium, where he threw himself into a truck in the UK. He crossed the Channel and settled in London, where he is now studying science in college.
Friends in Ubari say the city has gone from bad to worse. Targi’s childhood friend, Mahmoud Twareg *, says it remains a place of stifled shock and danger.
“Schools are in a bad state, without enough teachers. Hospitals lack enough staff and functional equipment, ”says Twareg. “Security is lacking. There are armed groups and gangs everywhere.
“The peace agreement does not improve things in Ubari at all. Nothing has been changed. The forces in [warlord general Khalifa] Haftar is back. ”
Targi believes that even if the agreement takes place elsewhere in Libya and the country puts the war behind it, his life will remain far from home. “I want to finish my studies. I don’t expect life to improve in Ubari. So I won’t be back any time soon. ”
* Names have been changed
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