Part 1

Yurub was living a simple life in southern Somalia, selling vegetables. She enjoyed her work, but she dreamed of pursuing more education, and specifically of the opportunity to study medicine. “I am an only child and my father passed away in my early childhood. That’s why my mother needed me to work with her in the markets. I began at the age of 10.” She ended up never going to school.

“Years later, I was tending to the farm fields, as I did every day, when a group of men suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started harassing me.” These men were part of Al-Shabaab, a jihadist terrorist group based in East Africa. “They threatened my life, and demanded that I be a kamikaze for their organisation.” Even under extreme pressure Yurub adamantly refused, but she knew the risks. She explained “Do you know who they are? If you refuse, they will kill you anyway.” Luckily, after she refused, they left, but she knew it would not be long until they came back. She could not live a peaceful life in her motherland anymore. Her only chance for survival was leaving Somalia as soon as possible, or else she would face the threat of death. Just one week before this incident, her husband also had to flee for the same reason. And so, Yurub made the decision to leave Somalia, and travel to Turkey to be reunited with her husband.

“Late at night that same evening, my family paid for me to travel to the capital city, Mogadishu, where I intended on getting a visa to Turkey. But right before entering the city, I got out of the car, to avoid being followed all the way to my final destination. A friend of mine in Mogadishu helped me collect all the necessary documents to apply for a Visa.” Finally after a few weeks in Mogadishu, Yurub was able to board the plane to Turkey, to join her husband.

The couple stayed in Turkey for one month together before crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece on a rubber boat. They arrived in Mytilene, on Lesvos Island. “We were scared of the sea but Greek people saved us.”