Juma Adam was Just 12 years old when he left the unbearable situation in the Sudan under the Omar Al-Basir regime. he fled to the neighboring Chad where he lived as a refugee for 2 years before fleeing to Libya in 2018 at the age of 14.
Upon his arrival in Libya, he got arbitrarily detained several times and extorted, which pushed him to look at the Mediterranean Sea as the only option. he made several attempts trying to cross the Mediterranean but ended up in violent pushbacks by the Italian coast guards back to the Libyan nightmares he envisaged waking up from.
After several failures and endless detention camps, he approached the UNHCR in 2020 and got registered with the commission hoping to be protected but he was only given false hopes and once again he thrown and abandoned in the streets where he was only a prey for the traffickers.
In April this Year 2022 As usual Juma felt hopeless and then decided to take to the sea again for the 6th time, knowing that he could either make it to the other shore of the Mediterranean or get pushed back to Libya, but little did he know that it would be the beginning of his last trip and a call to the grave. After being on the sea for several days, Juma and his companions were forcibly intercepted by the so-called Libyan Coast guards and returned to Libya where he was imprisoned in Warshafana prison.
He was kept there for 6 months under unimaginable inhumane conditions. Then they transferred him to Zaharra prison. He stayed there for a month.
The prison guards dumped him three days ago, along with two other people, because their health condition was critical because they were sick, their bodies rotten, kidneys swollen, broken limbs and severe acute condition.
Given his conditions Juma told his caretakers to take him to Tripoli where he could have access to the UNHCR hoping to be treated, but upon their arrival to the UNHCR, Juma was neglected all the medical intervention with a three-month appointment slip.
His desperate caretaker took him to the public government hospital, but they refused to receive him. Then they took him to Al-Khadra Hospital, after suffering with the bureaucratic issues and long ques, they completed his admission procedures because his condition was very critical. He was suffering from a disease in the liver and lungs. And the doctors told them that his condition must be taken care of by the organization. The doctor made the necessary reports and sent it to the organization.
The organization’s ambulance came and took him to another hospital at 3 o'clock in the evening.
His caretaker was discharged from the hospital at 6 o'clock in the evening. The staff of the organization told him to go, and they would take care of Juma, and he was in their responsibility, and they would contact the caretaker in case anything happened. The following day they called me and told me that Juma died this morning.
Since the announcement of his death, we have tried to reach the UNHCR but all in vain. The hospital of internal rescue committee IRC where he died does not even answer my calls. At the government's public hospital there is no information, and, on the ground, there is no one to address us what to do. laments the caretaker.
Juma's story is the story of hundreds of thousands of people who are forced to flee from their countries of origin and arriving to Libya only to live in a repeated circle of violence and nightmares full of torture and humiliations. his story also reflects on the negligence of the UNHCR and the false hope it provides to the people in Libya.