The 16-year old boy from Eritrea was the first to step off the Ocean Viking vessel onto Italian soil - at precisely 11:31 on Friday (9 July), in the port of Augusta, Sicily.
He had earlier in the week told EUobserver that he spent four years in Libya, including over two months in a detention centre in Zuwarah, a known smuggling hub.
At enormous risk, his father had collected $2,000 to set him free and onto a boat towards Europe, he said.
As he stepped onto the gangway from t...
Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member
Already a member? Login hereNikolaj Nielsen, an EUobserver journalist, is embedded on the Ocean Viking for the coming weeks, reporting exclusively from the boat on the Mediterranean migration route.
Nikolaj Nielsen, an EUobserver journalist, is embedded on the Ocean Viking for the coming weeks, reporting exclusively from the boat on the Mediterranean migration route.