Refugees Deeply | 17.07.2018
Most Eritreans understand the horrors that await them as they travel to seek refuge. Researcher Katie Kuschminder reveals some of the coping mechanisms developed in response.
For years, Eritreans fleeing their homeland have known that, even if they make it to Libya, they will be kidnapped and ransomed. The extortion is systematic. Since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, the southeast of Libya has been under the partial control of the Tubu tribe, which has established a successful cross-border trade in goods, drugs and people. Kidnappers in this region are ruthless, holding people in appalling conditions and torturing individuals.