The household of magnificence salon proprietor Fathi Hussein is in deep mourning at their house in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu following her horrific demise at sea after a deal struck with migrant smugglers to take her to the French island of Mayotte it went flawed.
“The survivors informed us that she starved to demise,” the 26-year-old’s half-sister Samira tells the BBC by telephone.
From them the household realized that Fathi died in one among two small boats, adrift within the Indian Ocean for about 14 days, after being deserted by traffickers.
“People ate uncooked fish and drank sea water, which she refused. They (survivors) mentioned she began hallucinating earlier than she died. And then they threw her physique into the ocean,” Samira tells the BBC.
Fathi’s household realized of his demise from Somalis who had been rescued by fishermen off the coast of Madagascar a couple of week in the past.
The International Organization for Migration (IMO) has said this greater than There were 70 people on board the two boats when they capsizedensuing within the demise of 24 individuals, whereas 48 survived.
Hundreds of migrants are believed to die yearly attempting to succeed in the small French island, situated about 300 km (186 miles) northwest of Madagascar.
On November 1, Fathi flew from Mogadishu to the Kenyan coastal metropolis of Mombasa and some days later set off by boat for Mayotte, a dangerous journey of greater than 1,100 km throughout the Indian Ocean.
Samira says they’re baffled by Fathi’s resolution as he had a profitable enterprise in Mogadishu and lived within the middle-class neighborhood of Yaqshid.
Fathi hid her plan from her household, sharing her secret solely together with her youthful sister, telling her that she had paid traffickers the cash she earned working her magnificence salon, Samira says.
“She hated the ocean. I do not know why or how she made that call. I want I might hug her,” she provides.
Survivors informed Fathi’s household that the sweetness salon proprietor and all the opposite passengers have been on a big boat once they left Mombasa.
But through the journey, smugglers mentioned the boat had skilled mechanical issues and must flip again.
Then, earlier than returning to Kenya, the traffickers loaded all of the migrants onto two small boats, assuring them: “You will attain Mayotte in three hours.”
But, Samira says, “it turned in 14 days” and led to the deaths of her sister and others.
Some survivors suspect that traffickers intentionally left them deserted at sea as a result of that they had already been paid and had no intention of taking them to Mayotte, Samira says.
IMO regional official Frantz Celestin tells the BBC it’s more and more frequent for migrants to danger their lives attempting to succeed in the French island.
“Just just lately 25 individuals died on the identical journey, often in transit by means of Comoros and Madagascar. Overall this yr has been the deadliest yr for migrants,” he says.
The BBC spoke to 5 Somali migrants who tried to succeed in Mayotte.
We have been informed there are two primary routes from Somalia to the island.
Some journey by boat from Mombasa by way of the Comoros islands, that are a lot nearer to Mayotte, whereas these with extra money fly to Ethiopia after which Madagascar as a result of Somali passport holders are entitled to a visa on arrival.
From there, they take a small boat to Mayotte, hoping it should open the door to acquiring a French passport and entry Europe.
One of the fortunate few who survived this harmful path is Khadar Mohamed.
He arrived in Mayotte 11 months in the past however clearly remembers the harrowing ordeal he confronted in reaching the island from Madagascar.
“When I arrived in Madagascar, I used to be taken to the home of the proprietor of the boat. We stayed there for 14 days. We have been a mixture of Somalis and Malagasy,” he says.
The group of individuals ready reached 70 individuals. They have been then loaded onto a ship and brought throughout a river to the open ocean.
Khadar says he left Somalia due to the menace posed by al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate preventing to overthrow the federal government.
“I left my nation for my very own security. I used to be an entrepreneur and could not do my job due to al-Shabab,” he says.
Families of a number of the victims say traffickers are paid round $6,000 (£4,700) to journey from Mombasa to Mayotte, with half the cash given up entrance.
The BBC noticed accounts on the social media platform TikTok, promoting related journeys to Mayotte and past to different elements of Europe.
Advertisements say operators can carry individuals to Mayotte utilizing massive vacationer boats, however victims’ households say traffickers use a lot smaller fishing boats referred to as “kwassa”.
The French authorities has not commented on the current tragedy.
Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi says his authorities is working to contact survivors and convey them house.
Fathi’s household say they reported to the authorities a trafficker they think their daughter had contact with in Mogadishu and he was arrested, however has since been launched on bail.
Samira says the ache of not understanding how her sister felt in her ultimate moments will keep together with her without end.
“I want he might speak to me and inform me about his resolution. He might have mentioned goodbye… now, I do not know how one can course of his demise,” she says.
Additional reporting by Marina Daras.
