"The minute I was alone, they would have raped me” - Adanya, 34, from Cameroon says.
“In Libya, I was sleeping under trucks and buses as I did not have any money”- Afia, 24, from Ghana.
“I know if I tell my mother I am in Libya, she will be crying every day” Ibrahim, 28, from Nigeria.
“They said that if I had sex with them, they could take me (across the sea) without payment”- Linda, 19, from Guinea Conakry.
The experiences recounted by these four survivors are common among the women and men rescued by the Geo Barents, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) rescue ship in the central Mediterranean.
On the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, Tales of Women at Sea aims to amplify the voices of women rescued, as well as share stories from male survivors about important women in their lives.
Through portraits and testimonies, the survivors describe the circumstances that led them to cross the central Mediterranean, the deadliest sea migration route in the world.
Their stories are accompanied by testimonies from women MSF staff, who explain their motivations for the life-saving work of search and rescue, and the bonds felt with survivors on the Geo Barents.
Anyone crossing the sea to escape a dangerous situation or to find a better life is in a vulnerable position, but women face the additional burdens of gender discrimination and, all too often, gender-based violence, along their routes. Women represent only a small proportion - around 5% - of those who make the dangerous journey from Libya to Italy.
On board the Geo Barents, female survivors regularly disclose practices such as forced marriage or genital mutilation (affecting either themselves or their daughters) as being among the reasons they were forced to leave their homes.
Women also face specific risks during their journeys - MSF medical teams report that women are proportionally more likely to suffer fuel burns during the Mediterranean crossing, as they tend to be placed in the middle of the boat where it is thought to be safest.
Many women rescued also report having experienced various forms of violence, including psychological and sexual violence and forced prostitution. Among these women is Decrichelle, who fled a forced marriage to a violent husband, escaping with her baby.
They left their home country of Nigeria and went via Niger to Algeria.
When they arrived in the desert, Decrichelle’s daughter fell ill and she could not do anything to treat her because she had no access to care or medicine.
The young girl died, and Decrichelle had to leave her behind before continuing the journey to Algeria: “an immense and inconsolable sadness” for her.
Decrichelle attempted to cross the sea once, but was arrested and sent to prison, where she was released immediately, only to be taken by taxi to a brothel.
Some Cameroonian friends helped her escape.
For six months, she lived in the campos (the abandoned buildings or large outdoor spaces near the sea where traffickers gather migrants) before scraping together the money to pay her way for another crossing.
“I want to be in a place where I can live like a normal person of my age. I want to be able to sleep at night.
“I wanted to be here with my child. It hurts me to think that I am safe, and I left her in the desert,” she said.
Beyond the difficulties women face on migration routes and in Libya, MSF teams on board the Geo Barents often witness the strong bonds that develop between survivors on the women's deck. The women come together to support one another with daily tasks and childcare.
“I want to tell women: it is not your fault. You are exactly the same person as you were before.
“You are even stronger,” said Lucia, deputy project coordinator aboard the Geo Barents, who has herself experienced rape.
“I think it has been really moving to see these women, who actually escaped what I experienced for an hour of my life, and in their struggle, their strength and their hope, (they do not stop) this fight,” she said.
Meanwhile, when male survivors are asked about the people they left behind or the reasons for their journey, a woman is always mentioned in their stories.
Ahmed, 28-years-old, was born in Sudan to Eritrean parents who moved to Sudan to escape the war.
Having lived all his life as a refugee, Ahmed never felt that he belonged in Sudan.
He wished to leave, but as an undocumented person, unable to return to Eritrea for fear of military conscription and an oppressive dictatorial regime, he decided to travel to Libya and cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
Nejma, cultural mediator on board the Geo Barents, explains her bond with survivors like Decrichelle and Ahmed.
“I am African and I am Middle Eastern. I am a mother. I am a woman.
There are so many things that link us together. Maybe also the fact that I had to flee. That is a big part of it.
“I think it helps me understand where people are at the moment we find them; it is an understanding that books could never teach me.”
Cape Times