LIBYA RETURNEE RECOUNTS DESERT ORDEAL, SAYS SURVIVORS DRANK URINE TO STAY ALIVE

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By: Tajudeen Aminat

A 23-year-old Libya returnee, Endurance Daniel, has narrated how she and fellow migrants survived a desert journey by drinking urine due to severe water scarcity.

Daniel told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after her return to the country that she travelled with 52 other migrants in a single vehicle, adding that seven of them died along the way due to harsh conditions.

She said she was deceived into travelling to Libya at the age of 17 after being promised job opportunities and a better life in the North African country.

According to her, the journey lasted over a month in the desert under extreme hardship.

“We spent more than a month in the desert. There was no water, so we were drinking our urine to survive. At some point, even urine stopped coming out, and some of us began passing blood instead,” she recounted.

Daniel, one of 182 migrants recently assisted to return to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said she was persuaded by a family acquaintance who claimed life in Libya was better.

She added that she was told she could work for a short period, repay her sponsor, and eventually start a business or live freely.

However, upon arrival in 2019, she said the reality was far different from what she had been promised.

“My sponsor said the only jobs available for women were domestic work or prostitution. There was nothing else,” she said.

Daniel explained that her attempts to return home were blocked, as she was told she must first repay transportation costs incurred during her travel.

She also alleged that her trafficker refused to allow her contact with her family, fearing she might receive money to return to Nigeria.

According to her, migrants were threatened, intimidated, and coerced into exploitative situations.

“He said if we refused, he would sell us into prostitution elsewhere. We were scared and had no choice but to obey,” she said.

Daniel further noted that she endured hunger, dehydration, and witnessed the deaths of several fellow migrants during the journey.

She said those who survived were later taken to camps where they were given very poor meals before being reassigned to sponsors.

“They served us plain spaghetti without salt. We ate it because we had no option,” she added.

She also revealed that migrants were often hidden during transportation to avoid detection by authorities, warning that those caught risked imprisonment.

Daniel expressed gratitude for her safe return and advised young Nigerians to thoroughly verify migration opportunities before embarking on risky journeys abroad.

“What I went through was nothing like what I was promised. People should be careful and not believe everything they hear,” she said.