By: David Yang
750 migrants embarked on a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, only to encounter one of its deadliest shipwrecks. Each person had their own reason for making this trip, including Thaer Khalid al-Rahal, who shared his struggle with cancer.
Thaer, a Syrian refugee, has been living in a Jordanian refugee camp with his family for ten years due to the devastating war and lack of resources in his home town. Last year, his youngest son was diagnosed with leukemia. The United Nations’ refugee agency initially provided assistance for the treatment costs, but their support gradually decreased. As his son’s condition worsened and doctors recommended a bone marrow transplant, Thaer realized that relying on official channels was no longer a viable option. He made the difficult decision to travel to Europe in search of riches to have a chance to save his son. Thaer’s cousin, Abdulrahman Yousif al-Rahal, explained, “Thaer felt he had no other option.”
Similarly, Thaer’s brother, Adiil Hussain, expressed their circumstances in Greece, saying, “We are not leaving by choice. There is simply no future for us in Pakistan.” The smugglers lured Adiil with promises of taking him to Italy on a “great boat.” On June 8, the small vessel departed from the Libyan port city of Tobruk. Tragically, only 104 migrants survived the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean, with the recovery of 82 bodies and the loss of hundreds more swallowed by the sea.
Approximately half of the passengers were from Pakistan, and among the survivors, there were 47 Syrians, 43 Egyptians, 12 Pakistanis, and two Palestinians. The interior minister of Pakistan estimated that 350 Pakistanis were on board, meaning that around 338 lives were lost in this devastating incident. Most of these individuals were fleeing from war or sacrificing their lives to support their families back home. Alarmingly, almost half of them were under the age of 18. If they had informed their families, perhaps they could have been dissuaded from embarking on such a perilous journey and having a heartbroken ending to their story
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