“We’ve already been on the road for three years”
On Wednesday, 10th May, Première Urgence Internationale leads a medical action for migrants at the former ice-rink in Cergy. Free medical consultations were offered to people who wished to have one. Amid the fifty people waiting for the consultation, Radel and Ali, two young Somalian friends who crossed the Mediterranean Sea with the hope of a better life. We met them.
Could you tell us about your country and your story?
Radel: My name is Radel, I’m 21 years old. In Somalia, I used to be a mechanic. I lived with my parents, my two brothers and my two sisters in Mogadishu.
Ali: And I’m Ali, I’m 26 years old. With Radel, we met a long time ago, we come from the same neighborhood. I was a driver. In our country, there is a civil war. In Mogadishu, our native town, violence is everywhere, inhabitants have to live with it day-to-day. We saw the situation which deteriorated month after month
Radel: the terrorist attacks committed by Shebabs have multiplied since a few years. We live in the fear of being killed every day, just by walking in the street with a suicide-attack. Islamists are determined to overthrow the government.
Ali: We’re worried about our families who stayed in the country. Things are not evolving. There was another explosion on Monday, a car-bomb that caused many dead people. We have very little information of our relatives, we hope they are alive and not wounded.
What was your way to Paris?
Radel: We’ve been on the road for three years! We left Somalia in 2014, we went together. We crossed the Ethiopian border and then crossed Sudan, Libya and Italy.
Ali: The road was very long but we wanted to come to France to have a better life. We took the train in Italy and we ended up on foot. We arrived at Porte de la Chapelle ten days ago but the camp was evacuated yesterday. We were led here for sheltering, at the former ice-rink of Cergy, where we will stay for a week.
Radel: We are a bit worried about the future but we are relieved to arrive. We really wish that we could stay in France and work soon.
