A Long Journey To Safety

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A LONG JOURNEY TO SAFETY

The story of Soraya, asylum seeker from Eritrea

By Ophelie Lawson

I met Soraya in a women’s shelter in Mytilini, Lesvos while visiting on assignment. I needed to photograph the premises, showing how women who came from the refugee camp of Moria managed to turn a simple shelter into a safe home after coming from hostile environments. Soraya was one of the first women I met in the women’s shelter. She was peacefully holding her baby in her arms. Soraya was born in Eritrea, a country of about 5.3 million people with over 480 000 displaced. In 2015, the UNHCR estimated that five thousand people fled Eritrea every month to bordering countries, from dictatorship and human rights violations. However, tens of thousands of them have made it to Europe, hoping to get asylum, just like Soraya. After tea, Soraya started sharing her journey with me. She asked me to record it. She wanted people to know about her story. How dangerous the journey must have been crossing the sea with her baby. “Erythraea is no good…crossing the sea, I was really scared. It was the first time in my life I saw so much water and I was pregnant. I was scared, not only me but also for my baby”, she stated. During her journey on the boat, there were 50 other people including many children. To cross the sea and get to Greece, was not only risky but expensive - cost over 1000 Euros. To make money, Soraya had to go to Izmir where she found work. Her husband, whom she met in Turkey also helped her. Soraya was 3 months pregnant when she attempted the perilous journey through the Mediterranean Sea where she was caught and imprisoned. It was her first pregnancy, “I had no choice” she said, “but I was worried. Erythraea was not safe for me, Turkey not safe for both me and my baby”, she revealed. Despite her traumatic prison experience, she tried again. Soraya said she thought that she would die as the boat left Turkey in completed darkness. “I cried,” she says, “lot of us cried. It was cold and dark”, she explained. When they arrived on the shores of Lesbos Island, nobody was there to rescue them. All of them had to walk until they encountered Greek police. They were then taken to the UN offices where they received some clothes and other essential items from UNHCR before taking them to Moria camp. “I never want to have an experience like that again. My time in Moria, now I think I don’t want to remember.” She paused. “It was cold, toilet disgusting, people are not nice, and I didn’t feel safe there. How can we live like that?” she asked. Soraya stayed 2 months in the Moria refugee camp at the early stage of her pregnancy before being taken to one of the UNHCR shelters, after finally being recognised as a vulnerable case. She stayed there for 9 months and had Isaac but was later asked to leave. “I thought Europe would be better. That we would be safe. Life in Erythraea was hard. I left home with hope one day I can provide for my family and have better life” she continues. She disappointedly noted that “in Africa, you know, everyone assumes that Europe is so much better. Easier for your family to find jobs, make money. Government better. Now, every time I can speak with friends in Africa, I tell them do not come to Europe.” On an island where there is a high level of hostility towards refugees, it was in a woman’s shelter that she found safety again. Female asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants, particularly single mothers and pregnant women face a unique challenge as they are very often victims of violence, exploitation, and human trafficking. After surviving the difficult Mediterranean Sea crossing, they find themselves stranded in places where they have no legal rights, and where their fundamental human rights are not being respected while facing further dangers of sexual and genderbased violence. Although she reached a safe place and is away from neglect and abuse, Soraya’s journey does not end up there. She is still waiting for asylum to be granted to her.