A FAILED JOURNEY FROM MOROCCO

October 05, 2017

Credits: In Tarik Sika detention camp, where Khalid Karhi is staying, migrants said there are well-treated. But the conditions are still difficult and most of them want to come back home quickly. / Maryline Dumas

Between 800,000 and 1 million migrants are in Libya waiting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. But a lot of them lost hope once they arrived in Libya. Those who already tried the journey are now being held by Libyan forces. Now they have just one wish: to return home.

Khalid Karhi is one of those migrants trying to return home. The Moroccan left his job as a truck driver to try to reach his girlfriend living in France. He made the decision in June, convinced by his friends who managed to reach Europe.

"We took the plane to Algeria. At the airport, a man waited for us with cars. We crossed the Algerian, the Tunisian, and the Libyan desert," explained the 26-year-old man, who arrived directly to Sabratha, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tripoli. It is one of the main departure points in Libya.

Considering the ongoing fighting in Libya, Karhi didn't want to stay long in the country. While some migrants have to work in Libya in order to pay the rest of the journey, Khalid came with his life savings. The road trip cost 2,000 euros (2,355 dollars) and another 3,000 euros to get a seat on the boat.