Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/191652
16 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2013 Libyan militia fired on migrants' boat before it capsized SURVIVORS TELL MALTATODAY THAT THEY WERE SHOT AT BY A LIBYAN MILITARY VESSEL BEFORE CAPSIZING JURGEN BALZAN AND MATTHEW VELLA WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TIM ATTARD MONTALTO A Tunisian man thought to have PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION been skippering the boat which capsized 65 miles south of Lampedusa was among the 146 migrants who were brought in Friday morning by the Armed Forces of Malta. MaltaToday has also discovered that the boat capsized after a Libyan military vessel fired on it, killing two. It is also believed that there were more than 250 migrants on board. Among the survivors is a monthold baby and a couple who lost track of their three children. It is thought that around 50 persons died at sea. The majority of the migrants are Syrian, while others claim to be Palestinian. A Home Affairs Ministry spokesperson said that 117 migrants are Syrian, 27 claim to be from Palestine, one is from Lebanon and one is the Tunisian man, who, survivors told MaltaToday, was the boat's captain. Government spokespersons confirmed that a Tunisian man was among those rescued but could not confirm whether he was at the helm of the boat. Contrary to initial reports, survivors who spoke to MaltaToday at Mater Dei Hospital yesterday afternoon explained that the boat, which capsized on Friday, was carrying between 400 and 450 persons, including around 100 children. The first reports had said that the vessel was carrying just over 200 migrants and capsized after encountering difficulties in Maltese waters just before sunset on Friday. However, Syrian and Palestinian refugees told MaltaToday that the boat, which was around 20 metres long, carried many more persons and the real reason the boat capsized was that it was shot at by Libyan military personnel who were following the migrants in a separate vessel. The survivors, who were at Mater Dei to undergo medical tests in the radiology department, explained that they had departed from Zuwarah, the north-western port in Libya, after paying $3,000 each to Libyan militias. One 16-year-old Syrian boy recounted how he had travelled over 5,000 km from Damascus to Libya through Jordan and Egypt in less then a week. The boy made the trip with his parents and two younger brothers, however his father and one of his brothers were rescued by the Italian navy and taken to Lampedusa, while he and the rest of the family were brought to Malta. "We are extremely tired and hungry, however the only thing we want is to be reunited with my father and brother," the boy said as he stood by his visibly tired mother and sevenyear-old brother. The boy said his family had fled Damascus to escape the violence which has ravaged Syria, with the number of refugees set to exceed the three million mark by the end of the year. He explained that after fleeing from their war-torn country, his family made it to Libya and were told that they would be taken to Italy by sea by Libyan militiamen. However, the migrants who spoke to MaltaToday revealed, shockingly, that that their boat was shot at by Libyan military forces who followed the boat for hours. Although only a few of the migrants could speak English, many of those who spoke to us said that soldiers had shot at the boat and killed two people. Two 17-year-old Syrian boys said that this caused the boat to overturn, as the migrants panicked. Molham Alrosan, a 20-year-old Palestinian from Syria, was on the boat with his mother, father and his 10year-old brother, Mohamed. They were hoping to immigrate to Sweden in search of a better life. Molham's family travelled from Syria to Libya through Lebanon and Egypt. He said that only a short while after leaving Libya, they noticed a Libyan military boat was following them. "It followed our boat for six hours and the officers on board insisted that we turn back. When our captain refused, they started to shoot at the place where they assumed the engines to be," he said. "And when that didn't work, they started to shoot at us." Another passenger on board, also of Palestinian origin, described how they had tried to shoot at him. "They shot at me but the bullet hit the railing. If it wasn't for that, I'd probably be dead," he said.The man, who preferred not to be named, was on the boat with his wife. The couple had been living in Libya for a year but due to it "not being safe", had boarded the boat hoping to reach mainland Europe. He confirmed that the militia boat had followed their boat for hours, even when they were outside Libyan waters. "I remember that they were dressed in casual clothes, but they were definitely militia. I don't know why but even when we were outside the Libyan border, they kept following us," he said. At least four families who spoke to MaltaToday explained that they were separated from other family members at sea, with Aisha Mustafa, 25, and her husband Aleq, 27, explaining that their one-year-old daughter, Mara, was taken from their hands by Italian rescuers and taken to Lampedusa, while they were brought to Malta. "I know my daughter is alive. She is completely alone in Italy. I want her back, I want her to join us here as soon as possible," Aisha said, adding that she had no idea when she could embrace her child again. Ihad Ali from Syria explained that his three children, aged five, three and one, were also in Italy, while he and his wife were in Malta. Although most migrants spoke broken English, and some details in their stories did not match exactly with the stories others told, they all agreed on one thing. Asked what they hoped for, they all replied that they want to be reunited with their families and live in peace. A Syrian woman living in Norway contacted MaltaToday explaining that her sister, Taghrid, had departed Libya on Thursday with her husband and five-year-old twin daughters, however she had not heard from them since. The woman asked whether we could help trace her family. On reaching hospital, we spotted a disconsolate man sitting in a corner, with his little daughter sitting on his lap. >>