Migrant Traffickers Threw Woman Into The Indian Ocean While Traveling From Mombasa
A Somali family is mourning the death of their cousin, 26-year-old Fathi Hussein, who was reportedly thrown overboard by fellow passengers after succumbing to starvation during a 1,100-kilometer boat ride from Mombasa to the French island of Mayotte.
She was one of 24 people who died when smugglers abandoned them after promising them a safe trip through the turbulent Indian Ocean.
They were left adrift for 14 days, with the boat’s conditions deteriorating by the day, leaving only 48 survivors.
Lady Dumped in Ocean While on 1,100-Kilometer Journey From Mombasa https://t.co/Ph63fyRYVo pic.twitter.com/LmdBDZqpHV
— KenyaMOJA.com (@KenMOJA) December 1, 2024
A family member of Fathi told the BBC that other survivors informed them that she had died of hunger after refusing to eat raw sea creatures.
“People were eating raw fish and drinking seawater, which she refused. They said she started hallucinating before she died. And after that, they threw her body into the ocean,” she told BBC.
Her family learned of her death via survivors and other Somalis who had been rescued off the coast of Madagascar one week earlier.
Before leaving on the terrible journey, Fathi was a successful salon owner in Mogadishu, Somalia, and she kept her desire to travel hidden from her family, with the exception of her younger sister.
“She used to hate the ocean. I don’t know why and how she made that decision. I wish I could give her a hug,” the sister stated.
She flew from Mogadishu to Kenya’s Coast Mombasa, where she paid migrant traffickers with money she had earned via her company.
The smugglers said that halfway through the journey, the boat had mechanical troubles and had to immediately turn around to return to Kenya.
They packed the over 70 passengers into two boats and set them adrift, promising them only three hours to reach their destination.
Three hours extended into fourteen days, as passengers resorted to drinking seawater and eating raw fish.
Eventually, the boats capsized, and those who had not succumbed to starvation and thirst perished.
Some survivors continue to feel that the smugglers’ choice to abandon them stranded in the water was a deliberate attempt to defraud them of their money, given they had already paid and had no intention of completing the expedition.
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According to the International Migration Organization (IMO), hundreds of Africans die on this same route each year in their attempt to reach Mayotte, where they hope to obtain a French passport and gain access to Europe.
Most Somali migrants seeking to fulfill this goal fly to Nairobi and then travel by boat from Mombasa to the Comoros islands.
Those with more money fly to Ethiopia, then to Madagascar, because Somali passport holders are eligible for a visa on arrival.
Migrant Traffickers Threw Woman Into The Indian Ocean While Traveling From Mombasa
