Wissam has been in the sea for almost two days. Two of his children, Ammar and May cling to their dad in the powerful waves. They are all wearing life jackets, but are completely exhausted. None of them have eaten or drunk in two days. Wissam notices that his son is severely dehydrated. – He was so thirsty, but I had no water. So I had to give him my spit. My God, says Wissam, choking back tears and shaking his head at the thought. – He said: Dad, give me more. Then he died. Wissam holds onto the dead body of his son, while he and his daughter wait to be rescued. But there is no help to be had out at sea. It’s just them and the waves. After a while he passes out in the water. When he wakes up he is alone. Both May and Ammar are gone. He desperately searches for the children in the vast ocean, but cannot find them. All Wissam has left are the memories of his children and his wife. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / NRKA All Wissam has left are the memories of his children and his wife. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / news – God did not want me to see May die. She loved me dearly. She was so good at school and drew so well. She designed a restaurant that she wanted to open in Europe. Their mum just wanted them to go to school. But God took back what he gave us, says Wissam, holding his face in his hands as he sobs. We have to interrupt the interview. Wissam cries uncontrollably. We try to comfort the traumatized father. The last thing he remembers from the trauma in the sea is his daughter’s cry for help. – Dad, I’m over here, she shouted and waved her hands. I swam away. I asked her to hold tightly around my neck. Then I passed out again. When I woke up, she was gone. That was the worst. I loved her so much. I wish God took my life too. Within two days, Wissam lost four children and his wife. All drowned in the Mediterranean trying to get to Europe. But it wasn’t to end like that. Wissam had other plans for his family. Back in Lebanon, Wissam spends a lot of time honoring his dead children. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / NRKTilback in Lebanon, Wissam spends a lot of time honoring his dead children. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / news Escaped from poverty About two months ago, Wissam had a home, a wife and four children. He worked as a cleaner in the municipality, but life was tough. He struggled to support his family. – I couldn’t afford to enjoy myself with the children. I couldn’t give them what they wanted. The elders eventually understood that we could not afford it. They didn’t ask me things. But I struggled to explain to my youngest stepdaughter Maya why I couldn’t buy her that plastic doll. Wissam is not alone in that feeling in Lebanon. There are many people here who struggle financially. The country is experiencing the worst economic crisis in the world in over 100 years, according to the World Bank. The economy has collapsed, hyperinflation has caused the value of the local currency to fall by over 90 percent. Unemployment has skyrocketed. Those who can are trying to leave Lebanon. – I wanted to leave because the living situation was difficult. We lacked electricity, water, education and bread – everything, says Wissam. The smugglers took the house Together with his wife Salma, he made a plan to get the family out. A friend of his knew a human trafficker. Wissam met the smuggler in his hometown of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. – He wanted 18,000 dollars to transport my family and me to Italy. I didn’t own the pin in the wall. The only thing I had was a half-finished house I built with my sister. I showed him the house. He accepted it as payment. The 36-year-old hands over the house to the smuggler and gets ready for the tough trip. They will take the sea route to Italy. The sailing trip from Lebanon takes 20 hours, according to the smugglers. They must travel under the cover of darkness so that the Lebanese Navy does not see them. Then they are simply transported back to Lebanon. Wissam’s friend who introduced him to the smugglers has experienced it many times. – He has tried to get to Italy with his family six times. Every time he has failed, says Wissam. Every year thousands of people die in the Mediterranean. So far this year, over 100,000 people have chosen to take the life-threatening journey from countries such as Libya and Lebanon. Over 2,000 have been found drowned in the water. Far more are feared to have ended up on the seabed. But Lebanese have no claim to asylum in Europe. They do not come from countries ravaged by war, and are returned at the first opportunity. We ask what kind of life Wissam envisioned in Europe? – I knew that I wanted to live as an illegal migrant in Europe, without rights. But I still wanted to go because I know people who work illegally and earn more than we earn in Lebanon. I was convinced that my family would have a better life in Europe, even though we had stayed there illegally. Wissam also knew that the trip was dangerous. Nevertheless, he and his wife took the chance. Wissam tells how he fainted and lost control of his daughter. Sickness – I’ve heard the horror stories from the smuggling boats. But the smuggler I made a deal with promised that he had a big and nice boat. We were even to have our own cabin with a toilet. There were solar panels on the boat, so we also had electricity on the road. I also bought the most expensive life jackets I could find for Salma and my children. Although Wissam took some precautions before the boat escape, his gut feeling was not good. – We thought we had a 30 percent chance of making it to Europe in our lifetime. So you knew you could lose your life? – Yes, but I couldn’t stand life here anymore. I wanted to give my children a dignified life. On the night of 22 September, Wissam and his family embark on the dangerous journey. At 0400 they are ready at the pick-up point on the beach just outside Tripoli. There are around 30 people, most of them families with children, waiting at the water’s edge. They are picked up by three small fishing boats that will take them to the large smuggling ship that was anchored in the sea. – There was a tense atmosphere on board the small boat. My friend Ali, who was making his seventh attempt to get out of Lebanon, was also with us with his family. We were nervous, but we also felt a sense of joy. Imagine if we manage to get to Italy, Salma said to me, as I held her around, Wissam recalls. Death trap But the joy is short-lived. When they see the boat that will take them to Italy, they can’t believe their eyes. They are met by a rusty hull of a boat. It was already full of people. – I was promised that we would be 50-60 people. But now I saw that there were more than twice as many of us. I wanted to turn around. But the armed smugglers threatened to throw my children into the water if I protested. That’s why I gave up. Everything Wissam had been promised was a lie. There was no cabin for his family. They were placed on the deck of an old boat that tilted from side to side under the weight of the many passengers on board. Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians who wanted to get to Europe. According to Wissam, there were at least 160 people on board, 20 of them children. Wissam’s mother shows off the last message she received from her grandson. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / news Wissam’s mother shows off the last message she received from her grandson. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / news – My daughter Maya wanted to send an audio message to her grandmother before we lost coverage. Wissam’s mother plays the message on her mobile. – I love you as much as the sea. You are irreplaceable. This is the last message the grandmother received from her grandson. Grandma’s response to Maya was a pounding heart. Four hours into the voyage, the dreaded thing happens. They encounter rough seas. – The waves were as high as five-storey buildings. They slammed down and into each other. It was life-threatening. I couldn’t hear or see anything, he says as he fights back tears. The boat is about to be crushed by the waves. Wissam speeds off and takes the children’s life jackets. He throws them into the sea. One after another. – My wife begged me to pick up the children. I swam away. A fellow helped me. When I returned, the boat had capsized. I found neither Salma nor the children. God forgive them, I saw all the dead bodies floating. It was awful. Wissam says that he hugged his two surviving children tightly and cried in the water. As he did so, he saw another desperate father, who lacked life jackets for his children, take off the life jacket that Wissam’s now dead son Mahmoud was wearing. – I saw Mahmoud’s little body disappear into the water. But I said nothing because another little boy got the vest I had bought for Mahmoud. Maybe it would at least save him, I thought. Traumatized and alone Five weeks have passed since life was turned upside down. Now the 36-year-old lives with his mother. He is without a job and a home. The only thing he has left are the memories from the children on his mobile phone, and some drawings that lie on the living room table in front of him. – He sits and watches them all day, says his mother, who strokes his back. – He takes the pictures and the drawing with him wherever he goes. Wissam looks blankly down at his mobile with tears in the corner of his eye. – This is Ammar. He was very fond of football. He wanted to play every week. He was good at school and always got good grades. The 10-year-old, who asked for his father’s spit, has combed his hair back and proudly poses for the camera with his father’s sunglasses. The father smiles at the picture. He scrolls on. – Here is May. She was so creative, so full of life. She was always up to tricks. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday, says Wissam as he runs his fingers over her smiling face that lights up on the mobile screen. In one photo, he hugs the two youngest children, Maya and Mahmoud. In another we see the wife. – Salma was the glue in the family. She stood up for all of us. She was a qualified teacher and spent all her time on the children’s school work. The hunt for his son Now Wissam is on the loose. He has to make do with food distribution from local aid organisations. They also give him access to a psychologist once a week. Wissam needs it because he is marked for life. – It was a terrible blow. I had a family, a home where my wife was waiting for me, says Wissam as tears roll down his face. – For the first time is completely crushed. God knows best. I do not know. Thank God. At the grave of his children and wife, Wissam finds some comfort. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / NRKV Wissam finds some solace at the graves of his children and wife. Photo: Imad Abou Jaoude / news The heartbroken father puts his trust in God now. He says he finds strength to get through the leaden days through prayer. Because he must be strong. He has not yet found his youngest son Mahmoud. The bodies of the rest of the family were found off the Syrian coast. There he had them identified and brought them home to Lebanon. But Mahmoud was not among the more than 100 bodies found in the sea. The Syrian authorities have been very helpful, according to Wissam. But they demand that he send them a DNA test, so they can investigate whether the son is in one of their morgues. The test costs 250 dollars – money Wissam does not have. – I am doing everything I can to scrape together enough money for the DNA test, so that we can find Mahmoud and bring him home. By home, Wissam means the local burial site in his hometown of Tripoli where his wife and other children are laid to rest. He takes us to the cemetery, which is surrounded by wild bushes and trees. The graves of Wissam’s family stand out. They are freshly painted. He comes here often. He has so much he couldn’t say to Salma and the children. – You were betrayed by the sea. I didn’t even get to see you, Wissam whispers as he removes leaves from his wife’s grave. Warns others Wissam’s sister also goes to the cemetery. She has large, black rings under her eyes. It has been particularly difficult for his sister, according to Wissam. – She was like a substitute mother for my children. They were very attached to her and she loved them so much. Now Wissam’s sister sits by her sister-in-law’s grave and cries. – Sorry Salma. Sorry for not being able to find Mahmoud. Forgive me, she says as she rests her hand on the edge of the grave. Every day, boats with expectant people leave Lebanon bound for Europe. They all dream of a better future for themselves and their children. Just like Wissam. But he hopes no one else takes the life-threatening trip. – No one should go, even if they are promised a big ship. Don’t risk your children and family. Stay in Lebanon if you have to live on olives. Don’t think about leaving. See the entire TV report about Wissam.
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Refugees and migrants who take the boat to Europe risk life and health – Urix
