A STORY OF MODERN-DAY SLAVERY
A STORY OF MODERN-DAY SLAVERY
Description
When 17-year-old Boye had to flee Ghana, he was held captive by human traffickers and forced to work as a slave in various African and Arab countries. After surviving two years of torture and hardship, he managed to escape and made it to Greece, where he was granted refugee status.
Tags
Credits
Field Reporter
- Evangelos Athanasiadis
Interviewee
- Mohammed Boye Alhassan
Podcast Producer
- Fenia Chala
Sound Designer
- Giorgos Ramantanis
Sound Editor
- Spyros Lymperopoulos
Photographer
- Evangelos Athanasiadis
"We were basically slaves. There were moments they would actually kill people in front of us just to scare us they would slit someone’s throat because they are too tired to work."
My name is Boye, Mohammad Alhassan. I was born and raised in Ghana, Accra. When I was young my goal was to be a football player, my favorite football player was Zidane and I also liked Fabregas so people used to call me either like Zizu, or Fabregas. I used to play football a lot, like every single day, every single day. My mom would even beat me for going to play football because she wanted me to be in the house but I will just sneak out of the house.
I grew up in the slums. It was one of the most notorious places in the whole of Ghana. When you mentioned Nima 441 everybody's like: "Okay, okay, you're coming from the real ghettos”. It wasn't safe. I would only go to school in the morning and I would come back in the afternoon. I grew up from a very loving and caring family, very strict family. My parents were really interested in us, myself and my siblings to be educated, and to get the best quality education that we could get.
We lived in a compound house. We were not fortunate to have toilet, so we shared a public toilet, so like the whole community shares a public toilet. We didn’t have a kitchen, our room basically had one large bed, a big closet where we kept our things and we had like a TV, TV stand, a standing fan and yeah that was just about it. Myself and my two siblings will sleep on the bed, my mom and my other sibling would sleep on the floor.
My mom was very protective of me. She always wanted me to be in the house, she did not want me to leave her side, she wanted me to be in the kitchen with her when she is cooking, she wanted me to be in the room with her when she was watching TV. She just wanted me to be around. So, I never never imagined that I would see myself outside even Accra, not even Ghana, but Accra. It was something that I was 100% certain that it would never happen. And I remember when I was like in primary school, in Ghana the official language is English language but we also had French classes towards the end of the school hours and I also had football at the same time. So I would leave school early in order to go and prepare myself and go to play football, whether it was at the park, or in the corner. One time my French teacher he came a bit earlier and he saw me leaving. So, he was like: “I understand you are obsessed about football, but being able to speak other languages is also helpful, especially when you travel outside” and I was like: “Ahh, me? Travel outside? Ah, never” and he was like: “You never know where you will find yourself tomorrow” and I was like: “Me? My mom would not even allow me to go on school trips”. So it was not part of my dream. I never imagine seeing myself leaving Accra, leaving even Nima, not even Accra.
I was forced to leave.
My dad was involved in some illegal things, my mom got to know about this through conversations that my dad was having with people on the phone and my mom asked my dad to stop this. It was like a huge blow for these people. They still threatened my dad to come back and continue what they were doing.
One day I just came back from school and I saw blood on the floor and there was nobody in the house. Those people have come to the house and they have stabbed my dad. And after a couple of days my dad passed away. The same people who came to the house to attack my father, they found out where we were hiding. So, they came to my auntie’s house and they took my siblings. But before these people came into the room, my aunt asked me to hide under the bed.
My mom and I had to find a way out. So, my mom decided to call my uncle. We just slept on the street begging for food and water and everything. On the third day, my uncle called my mom and told my mom that he has found some people who are able to take us to safe place, but they were asking for some money. We went straight to a bus station and my mom was like: “Okay you should get on the bus and leave”. And I was like: “Go where? Alone?” And she was like: “Yeah, we were supposed to go together but these people are asking for huge sums of money but we don’t have money, what I have is little. I cannot go and leave you, we cannot go together, so you should go. I will stay behind, work, if I raise some money I will come to meet you wherever you are because these people have promised to take you to a safe place.” So, I was like: “No, I refuse” and my mom forced me on the bus, she asked to people to try not to allow me to get out of the bus. The bus took off and we left.
We drove for like almost a whole day. Before I left my mom, my mom gave me a paper with instructions about where to go and whom to look for. I got there and these people told me to go and wait in a room. The owner of the house came with his gang and he was like: “Do you know why you are here?” and we said: “No” and he said: “Okay, you all belong to me and you have to do whatever I ask you to do. You cannot go back, you cannot say no” and then I was, I was in shock about everything that had happened and what was going on. I was just in shock.
The other people were way older than me and they were like: “No, no we want to go back” and the gang of this man, they beat these people mercilessly, they like almost beat them to death. And this was like a way of warning us, not to object to whatever they say, or whatever they ask us to do again.
They started forcing us to work in the house and they put chains on our feet so we could not run, we could not do anything. They would keep us in a very small space and we would work like from sunrise to sunset. We only had one meal per day and it was not like an actual meal. It was just something to keep you going and they would only give you food or water whenever they want and if they want. They also had guns and they threaten us. Hitting us whenever we were like slow, whenever we didn’t want to do things they would like hit us. Finally they told us they were going to move us to a different place.
Some people came, they were Arabs, they bought us, they gave money and they took us. And that was how the journey started. From Ghana we passed through Togo and Benin and then we went to Niger. At Niger these Arabs sold us and these people in Niger forced us to work in construction sites for like almost three months and then after the third month they also sold us to other people. They took us from Niger to Dourkou, which is like a place in the desert. They sold us to the people there, they also forced us to work. So, it was like a chain of people. They force you to work for them and then, when you are done with work or when they are expecting new people to come, they would also sell you to another group of people, or another master. And when I say sell, I mean sell sell, like people bargaining: “Okay, I'm going to pay this money” and they'll ask you to take off your dress to see whether you have in scars on your body because if you have any scars or if you had any like you know any disability then it means your price will have to come down.
We were actually slaves.There were moments they would actually kill people in front of us just to scare us they would slit someone’s throat because they are too tired to work. They would shoot someone to death because they are hungry and they don't have even energy to continue working. Usually people did not object but sometimes people would fall sick because we were living in like a very poor condition. I was forced to work there for 3 months and then, they sold me again.
This time we had to travel form Dourkou to Libya. There are people who actually know how to navigate their way on the desert, so usually people travel in groups. They would bring like huge trucks, where they would pack people like sardines, you cannot even move. I was supposed to move with such group but unfortunately the people who were supposed to come and replace us, I don’t know if they were late or if they didn’t come at all, but we had to be delayed for one day. So, the whole group who were traveling to Libya had already left. It was just myself and a small group, so we had to go with a 4x4 runner, just to catch up with the group that had already left. But because the driver was in a hurry, our car broke down in the middle of the desert. We were about 50 people or so, everybody died, every single person in the group died. With the exception of myself and two other people.
We stayed in the desert for two weeks or more. We didn’t know where to go, we run out of food, we experienced sandstorm. So we had to be together when there is a sandstorm, you had to hold each other together so that at least after a sandstorm you would be together. We didn’t have water. We were drinking urine, so, like you basically had to beg someone to even pee for you to drink. We were laying down on the desert waiting for our time to come to die.
We were very fortunate that some people who were also traveling met us along their way and they took us, myself and the other 2 or 3 people. When we arrived in Libya they sold us to the militia. If you had money, you paid they would free you. But I didn’t have any money, I had nothing with me, I didn’t have anything. So when you don’t have anything they would ask you to call someone to pay for your ransome, if you say you don’t have anyone, then they would torture you until you provide them money. And I was tortured for like 1 week, I did not have any money, I didn’t have anybody’s contact, I didn’t know what to do, they would hang me on my legs upside down, on my left foot and they would use like rubber hose to hit me.
After one week, I saw the same Arab guy who bought me in Ghana. He had already told me that if anything happens, I should mention his name. I had already told them about him and they didn’t believe me. But after torturing me for more than a week, this guy showed up. He took me and other people with him and they took me to a different place, where Libyans who needed slaves, they would come there, pay some money, take you to their house or take you to wherever they wanted, to do whatever they wanted with you.
The entire period we were not allowed to talk to each other. We were not allowed to interact with each other. For like almost two years I cannot remember talking to people. Usually we work, they force us to work, during the day till sunset and then they would take like in the basement and there was no electricity, there was no light, so it was all dark. You don't see anything and like the people were always listening whether they would hear anyone speak and no one wanted to speak, because no one wanted to put themselves in trouble.
One night there was like a shooting in the camp. Some people were trying to take over control of the camp. So this Arab guy again, came there, took myself and the other people that he brought there to a different place. It was like a prison. A closed place where they kept us for like 6-7 months without doing nothing. One night they took us to a car and then they drove us to the port and then they brought a big boat, they asked us to go to the basement and then we drove for like 2-3 weeks until we arrived at Turkey.
The promised us freedom and they promised us salary at the end of the month. After the first month they did not give any salary. They started using us for sex business. So, basically, they would bring people to come and see whoever they want, they like and then they would pay money, they would take you to a hotel, do whatever they wanna to do, and they would have sex with you. Everybody felt uncomfortable and people were like okay, we can bare with the pain of working hard and being forced to work but this is like to the next level and people decided to escape. We never saw the people who tried to escape in the beginning. The masters came and warned us that they had arrested those people, they had killed them. If anybody decides to escape again, they would not only kill those who had escaped but even kill those who had stayed behind. I did not escape.
After the second month, people were like okay, we don’t care, we will try to escape, if we die, it’s best for us. All of this time, ever since I left my mom, there were reasons why I did not escape. First, because there were times where I had chains on my legs and I could not escape, almost all the time there were people with guns on top of you and you could not do anything. Because my mom told me she would come and find me wherever I was, I still thought, like ok, I will still be here whenever my mom comes, she will be able to find me. And these people would also tell me that if you escape we will kill your mom, because we have your mom. That was what they told me all the time, so, psychologically I could not go anywhere, I could not even escape, because I don’t mind them hurting me, but I would not want them to hurt my mom because of my actions. But, when the second group decided to escape I was like “If I escape with them, maybe I might make it and maybe I will die, but if I stay I will definitely die and my mom will die in anyway”.
I remember that night people were just running in the building, attacking the people with the guns and the knives and everything and then we managed to leave the building and everybody just scattered and went separate ways.
I found myself on the street, I walked for two days, I was hiding from anybody and everything, but after two days, I couldn’t continue like that because I needed to eat, I needed shelter, protection. So, I started trying to stop people with cars. I found this man who was really kind. He was driving his truck and he stopped and he asked me who I was, where I was coming from and when I told him I am from Ghana he was really excited. He started talking about football stars from Ghana and he was calling all the famous football stars and then he gave me food and some water and then he was like: “Okay, normally I should take you to the police station, but I know that the police in this country are corrupt but I know of a place where migrants come and you know cross over to Europe, so, if you are lucky, maybe you can make it.”
He took me in the forest and I met the smugglers who help people to cross. I didn’t have money, I didn’t have anything, in the beginning they kicked me and told me to leave but I followed them, they only cross during the night and they would bring the balloon boat which is like empty, without air and then they would pump air manually they didn’t have the machines to do it. This group were only women and kids, so I helped the smugglers, to pump the boat and this group tried to cross. They could not cross because they were like a large number of people. They told them to stay there because the boat is broken. The next evening, they brought another boat again. I helped pump the boat. They traveled like a few meters, the engine broke and the women told that they could not stay in the open longer because they had kids, they were feeling cold, there was no shelter, so, most of the group had to leave. And then, on the third day there were less people. So, after helping them again to pump the balloon they had space, so, they told me: “Do you want to go, do you want to join them?” and I was like: “Sure, I want to go”.
We spent like a couple of hours in the sea and we saw like this rescue boat and they told us: “You are now safe, you are now in Greece, you are now in Greek territory” and they started taking like the kids, the ladies and then the men. They took us to Lesvos. It was like around 4am in the morning, 5am in the morning. So, we stayed at the port until 8am or 9am where they took us to the camp, we got registered and I found myself in Greece.
It was on Friday. I was confused. I didn't know where I was. I did not trust the people either. We got registered then they took me to section B which is for unaccompanied minors. When I got there that was when I realized that okay this is actually a safe place, I saw people who are working there hugging me, they showed me like my bed, even when I was my family. I never never had my own bed, I never slept on white sheets you know, never had my own food. So when I arrived in Moria for me it was like the best moment of my life. And I felt genuine love from the people who were working there. I found myself in a place where I'm a foreigner, I'm a stranger, no one knows me but people just love you from the beginning and you don't know where this love is coming from but you could feel like this love is genuine love.
I don’t even remember hugging my mom. I've never hugged my mom because this was not part of my culture. Not even my brothers or sisters. The only time I hugged people was when we play football and you score a goal and everybody comes together and you hug each other. For me hugging people was symbolic to celebration. So when I hugged people like you know hugging me for the first time I was like but what is going on. And I made it a point like every single morning to go and hug the people everyday, talk to them, smile with them, laugh with them in order not to remember about certain horrors and try to to be strong that was when I began to realize that okay, this world is not only occupied by bad people. There are also good people. You just have to find them.
I had my first meal and I really slept good and that was the first time I actually had good sleep without having to wake up in the middle of the night and be aware about what is going on around me. I slept for like 12 hours that day. And then I woke up the next day and we went to play football and I met like all these unaccompanied minors and we're playing football and everybody was happy, laughing, smiling, hugging each other and I was like okay I just want to stay here I don't want to go anywhere and then you have these interviews and they ask you what do you want to do. And I just told them I don't have anybody anywhere. I just want to be safe and I just want to have a good life. This is where I'm coming from and I never want to find myself in that position again.
It started with my mom wanting the best for me, she didn’t know. Even until today I am still thinking whether my uncle knew that these people were human traffickers, but I don’t know, I guess I will never find out. These people would always sell you, take you to places where they wanted you to be. I only had the chance to decide where to go when we escaped.
It was only faith that kept me going, I would say, without faith I don’t know where I would be now. I I really don't know. And also the belief that I will be reunited with my mom was one of the main things that kept me going and hopeful and strong because like I could remember days when I felt sick or weak but I could not show it because when you show any sign of weakness or illness you're dead. It was only faith that kept me going.
I was the first refugee from the camp, to get enrolled into the Greek public school. My life changed upside down, from having nothing to, in my world, having everything. I have a home, I can eat whatever I want to eat because I have people supporting me and you know the school is supporting me. I go to the best university in Greece I would say, the best, I'm doing very well academically, I have really good friends at school from professors to students to Deans, to the president of the College. I have met a lot of wonderful people and everybody is also trying their best to make sure that I have a very comfortable life and I have an environment that would motivate me, encourage me to continue and never to give up. I just want to be a doctor and I want to be super rich. Not for myself but to be able to change the world with my ideas.