Once Upon An Incorruptible Criminal
By Kehinde Fawumi
(Author of Tomorrow's Realities Today and Managers' Manual for the 21st Century)

Published by Kehinde Fawumi at Smashwords.
Discover other titles by Kehinde Fawumi by visiting his Smashwords Author Page.

Copyright © 2011 Kehinde Fawumi
Thank you for downloading this Ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, kindly refer your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author.


Background
"Anthony, how did you define youth migration the other day?" I asked putting up a frontal mien.
"Migration is the deadly transit from Nigeria to Libya through the perils and risks of starvation, dehydration and death; far from the nightmare of frustration, poverty, brain-drain and unemployment in Nigeria.” He answered impulsively with a kind of well meaning sarcasm.
Startled, I marveled at the alacritous briskness with which he answered the question. “How is that supposed to absolutely explain a multifarious issue like international migration?” I probed further.
“You may not understand. We were about 2,000 youths that left Nigeria in 2007. Over 50% died already, just few of us made it back home. Ask Papa-Du he’ll give you more details” He replied.
Completely patronized by Tony’s informed description of local and intercontinental migration, I gave in to his putdowns. And I listened as he told a tale of his personal tragic migration experience to Libya…and back.
“The day was February 10, 2007. It was a Saturday. I stood with two of my friends, awaiting the dirty-white pick-up” Tony started. I adjusted my sit, ready to listen. 

Do not press your panic button unless you are dying. 
Do not talk out of the window. 
Do not sit on the window sill. 	
Do not kick your door. 
Do not make a wick. 
Do not steal from your fellow prisoners. 
Do not smoke or drink. 
Do not seal outgoing mail. 
Do not play-fight with your cellmate. 
Do not lend or borrow. 
Do not make holes in the walls. 
Do not graffiti on the furniture. 
Do not damage any prison property. 
You must be up by 5:00am and must not sleep till 10:00pm. 
No sleep in the day time. 
You must work 12 hours every day. 
Get used to it, you live here now.
"Fine," I said. The prison officer shut the door. 
I thought about my so-called crime and I became bitter. I thought about why I had handed myself over to the police, and I regretted it. “I could have escaped like Biodun and Tosin” I thought. “But it could be dangerous, Olamide was shot down when he tried to escape” I soliloquized.
Benghazi was a horrible place. A lot of Sudanese and Egyptians were there as well. The guards were simply mean. They made us watch the executions of the recalcitrant prisoners. The guards lined them up in the circle and gave them forks and spades. They made them dig their own graves.
Once the graves were ready, the prisoners held to each other crying while the guards machine-gunned them all. After that, survivors were made to cover their graves with soil. Witnessing those executions was one of the worst things I ever experienced in my whole life. 
Then we became afraid to go near the graves because people were saying that the soil was moving and that underneath some people were still alive. We were very frightened by all of it.
Every day the prison officers would say to us – “whoever attempts an escape will be burnt alive”. I couldn’t take this in. The scenarios of human exterminations I witnessed had unconsciously conditioned my mind and feelings to dance to the rhythmic drumbeat of non-conformity. Soon, I became obsessed with escape and even when my answers didn’t make any sense, I kept asking. “How can I do it? How can I get out of here healthy, alive, today?” 
I knew my life would be in danger but I had no other choice. Either I would die or reach another life elsewhere. It would be better to die in the city than await it in the prison. I assured myself.
On this fateful day, as the end of the day neared, and the work party headed back into the prison lodgings, I ducked behind a truck on the field. I was sure all the channels were entirely through. And that no one was close enough to notice my escapade. Looking around, I found no one, I became more confident.
“We kill headstrong prisoners that attempt sneaky deals here. You are doomed for death!” A guard whispered, scouting me from behind.
Fear gripped me. I laid flat on my belly and beg for my life. By now, I was ready to offer whatsoever he requested. So when he asked that I cover for him that night while he raped an Egyptian lady of 17, my consent was automatic. And by the way, who is then the criminal?
My crime? I did not have an ID card or permit to stay in Libya. I was an illegal alien in Benghazi, Libya and that was good for a year jail term. Without charge or trial for illegal immigration I was detained for nine months. 
I regretted ever embarking on the search for hope, which resulted in the ill-fated experience that I’m sharing with you. Kenny.
“I am sorry you had such a horrible experience.” I said calmly sympathizing with Anthony, who was now in tears as he shared his migration experience with me.
“You should be glad you are here now! Many others did not make it back.” I continued.
“And why did you migrate in the first instance?” I asked as I took notes.
Just like every Nigerian youths I met in Tripoli and Benghazi, my migration to Libya was borne out of my quest to attain physical safety and socioeconomic security. The journey was actually intended for Italy in Europe but nemesis caught up with me. I got arrested on my travel over the Mediterranean Sea. 
On the sea, our sailor missed his way. We wandered on the sea for two hours. Our boat was eventually seen by Tunisian fishermen who directed us back to Libya. On re-entering Libya, we were stopped by a Libyan police at the border with Tunisia and detained.
It was a deserved end for an act of greed and insatiability.
We were fifty-four in the boat. As we noticed the police men on the border, four of my friends jumped off and took to their heels. Two of them were gunned-down and died immediately, while the other two made it safely.
“Please let me use the restroom,” Tony paused and requested humbly.
“It’s ok, I will be waiting” I replied.
Tony cried as he talked with me that night. His story as an asylum-seeker demonstrates the extents to which people are willing to go to escape a variety of problems, whether political, social or economic, which they face in their country of origin. 
While crossing the deserts and the Mediterranean Sea, men, women and children alike endure great hardships. With little choice but to place their lives in the hands of smugglers, they are faced with life-threatening situations, often ending in the unnecessary deaths of family members, friends and fellow travelers. Many of them are aware of the dangers they are likely to encounter en route to their destination. However, their feelings of despair and frustration of marginalization, poverty and unemployment in their countries of origin, transit or asylum, are such that they are willing to risk everything for a chance, albeit slim, to reach wherever they aim.
“There was a lot of information I did not know before I left Nigeria.” Tony continued. 
The grass would be greener. The sky would be bluer. I told myself. 
But the grass wasn't greener, and the sky was grey. Life in Libya was not palatable.
Although I made money by taking up some sneaky jobs with which I sustained life, security was a major issue. I was lucky enough to avoid any personal problem but I feared that something would happen to me, that the police would arrest me, since foreigners were blamed for everything. The older generations were decent but the teenagers were problematic. They won’t let you pass by on the street. “Each time you make any movement in your daily life, like going to a shop, you will face a problem”.
I spent two and a half months in Benghazi, before my arrest. While I was there a fellow Nigerian was battered to death by a wayward Libyan youth, in my presence. They had a little disagreement. My presence was noticed and a mob chased me in to the bush. I escaped.
Then I suffered an attack of paranoid schizophrenia. I believed I was being monitored, that my thoughts were being broadcast to the police officers. I believed my every move was being recorded. There were holes on the streets caused by the dilapidated road network. I put my ear down to each hole listening for the mechanical buzz of automobiles. Undecided, I filled up each hole with a mixture of toothpaste and sand. I knew that what I was doing was odd, but I couldn't help it. The attack lasted only few days. 
“Tony I can understand”, I interrupted.
“Libya continues to represent a non-viable location for short-term and to a larger extent long-term residence for some foreign nationals”, I continued. 
For many, their stay is overshadowed by racism, the constant risk of detention and ill-treatment, and possible deportation to their country of origin. The lack of distinction between refugees and migrants under Libyan law and the absence of an asylum policy mean that people are effectively denied the right to seek asylum in Libya and lack adequate protection. They suffer from unclear state policies towards refugees, which leave many with an irregular or ambiguous legal status, adding to their sense of vulnerability. For at least some, their experiences in Libya push them to continue their journey and seek a more secure and stable life elsewhere, specifically in Europe.
Yet, arrival in Europe does not ensure adequate levels of protection. For instance, Italy’s policy of returns of alleged irregular migrants to Libya, without an adequate screening process, means that there are no guarantees that those in need of international protection are not deported. And since Libya cannot be considered a safe country for many returnees, they face return from Libya to their countries of origin.
How does Libya’s geography encourage smuggling?
The Libyan coastline, forming the country’s northern border, runs for over 1,700km, much of which is used as points of departure for boats heading to Italy. The adjacent land is one of the most populous with the country’s main cities, including Tripoli and Benghazi, and provides a stretch of cultivable land, housing numerous farms which are used to accommodate those waiting to depart for Italy. The largest concentration of those seeking to travel by boat depart from Zuwarrah, some 100km west of the capital Tripoli, close to the Tunisian border. Zlitan, some 100km east of Tripoli, was also regularly patronized by other smugglers. Others points of departure include: points on the coast near or in Tripoli itself, such as Janzur; Sabratha, located between Tripoli and Zuwarrah; and Benghazi, in the north-east.
Western coastal areas, such as Zuwarrah offer a more direct and shorter route to Europe and are therefore more popular.
Most refugees and migrants who take the boat from the Libyan coast arrive in the small Italian island of Lampedusa, some 300km from Libya, and to a lesser extent at other points along the southern Italian coast. Since 2002, Malta has also received many refugees and migrants who have set off from Libyan shores, probably heading for Italy but finding themselves on Maltese territory by accident.
“The voyage itself was hell!” Tony flamed. 
He definitely had an awful experience.
The irregular situation of refugees and migrants alike exposes them to great risks as they have little choice but to travel along difficult routes using dangerous means of transport, organized by smugglers, whose priority is financial gain rather than ensuring safe passage to Libya.
The journey itself is characterized by the long desert crossing in treacherous conditions, often facing starvation and thirst leading to death. Others are abandoned by smugglers supposed to be ensuring their safe passage, who have also been reported to steal their belongings and to swindle their ‘clients’.
The passage to the EU is riddled with dangerous and life-threatening situations at various stages of their lengthy journey. The journey typically comprises three stages: a desert crossing to the Libyan border, traveling within Libya from the frontier to the northern coastal towns and cities, and a boat trip across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. At all stages of the journey, they must resort to smugglers to enable them to arrive at their intended destination.
“The pick-up truck carried up to 45 people squeezed into the open back.” Tony started.
In a state of severe overcrowding, struggling to find enough space to sit and piled on top of one another, we travelled for about 10 days. The drivers, one Sudanese and a Chadian, drove by night and rested during the day. While the truck is stationary, I vied for a place under the car to profit from its meager shade from the burning sun. 
The basics of food and water are severely rationed, primarily due to the lack of space on the truck to transport large quantities of food and water for each passenger. We were advised to consume the strict minimum of food and water since too much of either can be harmful to the health on such a journey. At a point, the smugglers mixed the water with petrol to discourage people from drinking too much. 
When we got to Sudan, we were transported out of sight to a location just inside the desert where we waited for additional passengers to be gathered before setting off. 
Within three days, we ran out of food and water supplies. We only survived after a passing car offered some of its provisions.
At certain point on the journey, the truck was faced with enormous sand dunes that form “big mountains”. At this juncture, there were two options: the driver either stops the car, asks the passengers to descend and push the car to the top of the dune and walk the rest of the way themselves to rejoin their vehicle on the other side at the bottom of the dune; or the driver continues with the passengers remaining in the open back. In the latter scenario, passengers often fall out of the back as the truck descends the sand dune, sometimes becoming injured as a result. In some cases, the driver does not stop for those who have fallen out. 
In any case, there is danger. As we climbed the mountain ahead, as expected, the back door of our truck flung open and a passenger fell out of the truck. He was run over by another vehicle travelling behind us. The vehicle did not stop and the man was abandoned to his fate in the desert. “Probably more people have died in the desert than those that survived but of course there are no statistics” He concluded.
While I understand and sympathize with Tony’s plight as a victim of ruthless implications of well meaning voyage, I do not believe it is all that exists within the context of youth migration. Other stories exist that describe migration as a productive experience.
“The truth is not found in the thesis or antithesis, but in an emergent synthesis that reconciles the two” – Martin Luther Jr.
A.Y, my childhood friend migrated with his family to the United Kingdom for need of better education. Today, he is a Master’s student of Computer Science in the University of Lancaster. “I found things more interesting here. And I am ready to contribute my quota to change the educational system in Nigeria when I come.” He told me.
Mrs. B S, a nurse in a State Hospital in Nigeria won a chance to travel to the United States in 2006. She took off immediately. Today, she’s successfully flown her family to the US and they live peaceably. She is also building a hospital in my neighbourhood. According to her, the hospital is her way of paying homage to what good life has brought her.
I have also had remarkable experiences of travelling beyond the walls of my nation, and continent. Last year, I made two trips to two countries in South America (Brazil and Argentina) and was completely startled with the quality of life I witnessed and learnt. I had travelled following my feat as winner of an international competition.
It was a complete turnaround for me. I understood life from another perspective, a clearer one: We must commit to community development and that creation of sustainable green businesses and projects are vital to building our societies. Good ideas cannot thrive in failed societies. Soon after I returned, I completed two social projects through my non-governmental organization. Today, I have created two new sustainable systems: An Academy and a Foundation.
Consequently, it is possible to be carried away by the melodious rhythm of Tony’s predicament and sing only blasphemy and discouragement to youth migration. Howbeit it is not incorrect, it is incomplete. Tony’s story is true, but it portrays a deficient message of migration. 
However, one thing is fundamental to all these experiences, everyone wants to attain physical safety and socioeconomic security and avoid the feelings of despair and frustration of marginalization, poverty and unemployment in the countries of origin.
Thus, to address the issue of irregular migration through Libya, as elsewhere, the European Union (EU), Libya and country of origin governments must work towards tackling the political, economic and social factors in the countries of origin, as well as in countries of transit and of asylum, which lead people to migrate.
The need to tackle root causes is widely recognized, as is evident from the EU’s policy to link migration and development as a central means of dealing with migration issues. Yet, the EU and other governments currently only pay lip service to this policy without seriously implementing effective schemes to this end within a reasonable timeframe. Instead, the preference has been to increase border control and surveillance, to clamp down on smuggling networks, and to advocate information campaigns about the risks of travel through irregular channels. 
While these methods are valid, as long as they are carried out in conformity with international human rights standards, they are superficial and will do little to stem the flow of people attempting to reach the EU. Thus, people will continue to undertake the dangerous journey to Europe, knowing in advance that this might cost them their lives.
As for Libya, as well as other countries experiencing similar problems, the government should take a number of urgent concrete steps to address the lack of a human rights framework in handling irregular migration through its territory:
1.Significant amendments should be made to Libyan legislation to ensure that the specific legal category of a refugee is recognized by law.
2.National asylum legislation should be developed in compliance with international standards for refugee protection.
3.Much emphasis is placed on the need for Libya to ratify the United Nations Refugee Convention. While this is certainly desirable, Libya should not overlook its existing obligations under the Organization for African Union Refugee Convention, which incorporates a broad definition of who is considered a refugee.
4.The Libyan authorities should finalize a memorandum of understanding with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tripoli and grant it full recognition, allowing the organization to begin to carry out its full mandate in assuring refugee protection. 
5.While Libya has a right to expel people from its territory, this must take place in conformity with its international human rights obligations. The Libyan authorities should therefore desist from deporting people to their countries of origin until such time as a safe protection system for refugees and asylum seekers is operating.
“We could recommend heaven and earth on the issues of youth migration for years and not live to ensure it. We owe it to ourselves as the youth to change our mindsets about our countries of origin. We must do our part to make our own nations better. We must work together wherever possible to change the direction of our troubled nations, into our direction of peace and sustainable development. Our choices today may write our dirge or lyrics of survival tomorrow!” Tony added.
I chuckled. He has learnt a serious lesson in his life.
 
REFERENCES
Interview with a Nigerian friend 
January 2006. African Transit Migration through Libya to Europe: The Human Cost, The American University in Cairo. Sara Hamood.
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About the Author
Kehinde Fawumi is a result-oriented innovator and motivational speaker as well as a prodigious writer. He has authored books which have been translated to other languages and are being read all over the world. His remarkable experience in youth leadership has inspired his vision to directly impact 5 million youths in the world in the next 10 years.
He presently works with other youths across the world on different youth social projects. He has authored several essays, many of which had been excellently awarded globally. Kehinde is passionate about touching lives and inspiring people. He talks in conferences and in diverse youth gatherings.
If you enjoyed this book, kindly mail your feedback/invitations to fawukenny@gmail.com. I will be excited to read from you. You can also visit my website on http://kehindefawumi.smartnigeria.com or call me on +2348067126935.