Next stop Britain for the Med migrants who hopped in a taxi
Saved by Navy, clothed and fed, Sudanese men set off on first leg of journey here
SQUEEZED into a taxi with several other migrants – some of whom are in the boot – two Sudanese migrants rescued by the Royal Navy yesterday headed for Britain.
Less than 24 hours after stepping off HMS Bulwark, and after only the most basic of security checks, they simply strolled out of an Italian refugee camp.
Hamad Said and his friend Abdul Fatah, both 26, were among 1,100 rescued migrants who were given food and water on the British assault ship before being taken to the Sicilian port of Catania on Monday.
Once ashore they were taken to a camp where they were fed again and given new clothes by Italian officials. But yesterday afternoon, totally unchallenged, they walked out of the camp to begin their journey to London.
They shared a taxi with another group of migrants back to Catania where they boarded a bus headed for Rome. With the help of people-smugglers, the pair then plan to make their way to Calais, where they will try to sneak aboard a lorry for London.
It was revealed yesterday that Italian authorities have been forced to organise more buses to Rome to cope with the sudden influx of migrants all trying to head north. Officials at Central Catania bus station last night said the number of passengers had doubled in recent months.
Most of the 150 seats on two buses were full of migrants making their own way to Rome. Some tourists even gave up their seats for the refugees. But for many, the capital was just a stopgap.
Speaking to the Daily Mail about his plan yesterday, Mr Said said: ‘I don’t stay here in Sicily. I am going to England with Abdul.
‘I am getting a taxi to Catania and from there to Rome and after that to France and then England.’
The Manchester United fan then ran from the gates of Cara Mineo camp and jumped into the back of a silver Seat estate car with German plates, already packed with at least seven other migrants.
Figures released yesterday revealed 100,000 have made the crossing from Libya to Italy since January alone – but only 40,000 of them are still in the country.
Once placed in camps in Sicily, they are free to leave at any point – even though most are travelling without passports.
Most of those who have left Italy are thought to be heading for northern Europe, taking advantage of lax border controls to reach countries such as Britain or Germany. People
‘I left my mother and my wife’
can cross on foot from Italy to France along several miles of the border without any checks.
Save the Children last night warned the situation in Italy’s migrant camps was ‘at breaking point’, with more desperate families making the journey to flee war and find a better life.
Royal Navy chiefs have estimated another 500,000 migrants are waiting in war-torn Libya to make the perilous 260-mile journey across the Mediterranean.
Many of them, like Hamad and Abdul, had crossed the Sahara to Libya for work, only to find the country in the midst of civil war.
A year ago, Mr Said left his wife Sundy, 23, who was pregnant with his daughter Dalia – now seven months old.
The blacksmith from Darfur, Sudan, hired a car with Abdul to drive across the Sahara to Tripoli.
He said: ‘I went to Libya because of the war in Darfur. I left my mother and my wife.
‘I want to bring her to live with me in England.’ He said he worked in Tripoli but life was hard and there was lots of shooting, adding: ‘I left Libya because it was not good.
‘I paid 2,000 dollars to make the crossing.’ Then on Saturday night, carrying nothing but a mobile phone without a sim card and 15 euros, he stepped on a doubledecked wooden boot with 377 other migrants and set sail for Europe. He said: ‘I had no papers, no passport, nothing. The journey was very dangerous.’
After ten hours, he was rescued by
Royal Marine Commandos who had spotted the vessel from a helicopter on patrol.
Just over three hours later he stepped barefoot on to HMS Bulwark and was drinking bottled water and eating bread among 1,100 other migrants in the biggest Mediterranean rescue undertaken by the ship. He was assigned a number and was asked for his name, age, and to point to where he was from on a map.
Those details were sent to the Italian authorities who stamped his hand and took his photograph after he arrived the following afternoon.
He was then put on a bus to the camp, a former military base in the hills above Catania.
At the camp, he was again asked for his name and age, had a good night’s sleep.
The following day, walked out and waited on the road for a taxi. He said: ‘I am going to Rome. I want to go to England. I want to teach there.
‘I want to live in London or Manchester, because I support Manchester United.
Speaking of the people-smugglers in Italy who help desperate migrants to get into northern Europe, he said: ‘It is not easy. If I can get someone to help me then that will be good.
‘I will have to work in France then I will get lorry to England. Then I want to bring my family.’
Mr Fatah added: ‘I am going to England because I want to teach and help my family. I know the journey will be difficult but God will help us.’