'The sea is the only way out'
Feature: Mohamed is a Syrian. He and his family are also migrants seeking safety in Europe. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed spoke to him; here is his story.
3 min read
Boats in Alexandria harbour. The coastal city is a major hub for migrants [AAAJ]
Mohamed tried to leave Egypt by boat twice last year: once from Kafr al-Sheikh, a coastal governorate in the Nile Delta, and a second time from a seaside town not far from the Libyan border.
"The first time I was detained near Alexandria," he said. "Some [of the people with me] were deported within a week. But they kept me for a month and 10 days for not having any documents."
In a second attempt the same year, Mohamed said police arrested his group while they were being held in an overcrowded storage facility by smugglers near Marsa Matrouh, not far from the Libyan border. They were released days later after being forced to hand over money to police officers at the station.
"They were always asking for euros or dollars if we wanted to go to the bathroom," he said. "It was at this time that I decided to postpone the idea of travelling for a while —because of my kids and my wife."
I met the 35-year-old former officer in the Syrian Arab Army who defected at the onset of the 2011 revolution, at a cafe in Cairo's October 6 City, home to thousands of Syrians.
He told al-Araby al-Jadeed that without valid documents, he cannot even register the birth of his two young daughters.
"I am in prison here," he said. "The sea is the only way left."
Both routes out of Egypt have ferried thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants towards Europe in recent years.
Syrians have attempted the journey from Alexandria and the Nile Delta in unprecedented numbers since August 2013. On Wednesday, 446 people (many of them Syrian and Eritrean refugees) docked in Lampedusa's Augusta port after a perilous journey that began in Alexandria, Egypt's irregular gateway to Europe.
Over 1,700 migrants have died at sea so far in 2015, according to UNHCR figures. But Mohamed is determined to attempt the journey a third time.
"Let's say you've been in a prison for five years and all of a sudden you open the door and there's a boat there in front of you," he said. "There's 50 percent chance you might die, or 50 percent you might live. Would you take that chance?"
European officials often portray refugees taking boats as vulnerable and helpless, preyed upon by criminal traffickers. But Mohamed, like many Syrians in Egypt, knows the risks and follows news and trends before making a decision. He wants to reach the United Kingdom, because he already speaks some English.
He has no illusions about the people he is giving his money to.
"Look, the smugglers are people who saw a chance to make money and their job demands less humanity," he said. "You could say their level of humanity is similar to the European Union. That's how they manage to do their work."
European governments are taking an increasingly aggressive stance on trafficking. On Thursday, the European Council agreed to beef up Trident, a border patrol operation run by the EU's border agency, Frontex. But Trident is not a search and rescue operation.
The EU agreed to offer just 5,000 resettlement places to refugees, and threatened to return tens of thousands of refugees to their countries of origin or third countries.
Amnesty said the the outlook for much-needed search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean is still uncertain.
Mohamed blames Europe for forcing refugees to turn to smuggling networks due to a lack of legal alternatives.
When asked about Thursday's European Council meeting, Mohamed was sceptical.
"They might have another minute's silence — again," he smiled sardonically, "but I don't think they will do anything new. They will just continue making fake promises."
Al-Araby al-Jadeed is withholding the name of this reporter because of the security situation in Egypt.
"The first time I was detained near Alexandria," he said. "Some [of the people with me] were deported within a week. But they kept me for a month and 10 days for not having any documents."
In a second attempt the same year, Mohamed said police arrested his group while they were being held in an overcrowded storage facility by smugglers near Marsa Matrouh, not far from the Libyan border. They were released days later after being forced to hand over money to police officers at the station.
"They were always asking for euros or dollars if we wanted to go to the bathroom," he said. "It was at this time that I decided to postpone the idea of travelling for a while —because of my kids and my wife."
I met the 35-year-old former officer in the Syrian Arab Army who defected at the onset of the 2011 revolution, at a cafe in Cairo's October 6 City, home to thousands of Syrians.
He told al-Araby al-Jadeed that without valid documents, he cannot even register the birth of his two young daughters.
"I am in prison here," he said. "The sea is the only way left."
Both routes out of Egypt have ferried thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants towards Europe in recent years.
Syrians have attempted the journey from Alexandria and the Nile Delta in unprecedented numbers since August 2013. On Wednesday, 446 people (many of them Syrian and Eritrean refugees) docked in Lampedusa's Augusta port after a perilous journey that began in Alexandria, Egypt's irregular gateway to Europe.
Over 1,700 migrants have died at sea so far in 2015, according to UNHCR figures. But Mohamed is determined to attempt the journey a third time.
"Let's say you've been in a prison for five years and all of a sudden you open the door and there's a boat there in front of you," he said. "There's 50 percent chance you might die, or 50 percent you might live. Would you take that chance?"
European officials often portray refugees taking boats as vulnerable and helpless, preyed upon by criminal traffickers. But Mohamed, like many Syrians in Egypt, knows the risks and follows news and trends before making a decision. He wants to reach the United Kingdom, because he already speaks some English.
He has no illusions about the people he is giving his money to.
"Look, the smugglers are people who saw a chance to make money and their job demands less humanity," he said. "You could say their level of humanity is similar to the European Union. That's how they manage to do their work."
European governments are taking an increasingly aggressive stance on trafficking. On Thursday, the European Council agreed to beef up Trident, a border patrol operation run by the EU's border agency, Frontex. But Trident is not a search and rescue operation.
The EU agreed to offer just 5,000 resettlement places to refugees, and threatened to return tens of thousands of refugees to their countries of origin or third countries.
Amnesty said the the outlook for much-needed search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean is still uncertain.
Mohamed blames Europe for forcing refugees to turn to smuggling networks due to a lack of legal alternatives.
When asked about Thursday's European Council meeting, Mohamed was sceptical.
"They might have another minute's silence — again," he smiled sardonically, "but I don't think they will do anything new. They will just continue making fake promises."
Al-Araby al-Jadeed is withholding the name of this reporter because of the security situation in Egypt.
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