I saved GH¢12,000 in five years to travel to Libya; I regret it – Italy-based Ghanaian

Italy-based Ghanaian, Francis Yankey has revealed that he saved GH¢12,000 to fund his trip to Libya to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

Francis told the host of Daily Hustle Worldwide, DJ Nyaami, that his sole purpose for migrating to Accra was to work and save money to travel abroad. He worked as a driver by day and a security guard by night to fund the trip to Libya. However, Francis stated that he has some regrets about his decision.

“I saved GH¢12000 in five years. It was mainly because of the Libya trip. It has always been a dream to travel abroad. I worked two jobs to get that money,” he said.

You may have seen or heard stories of ‘Libya Akwantuo’ in previous years, but Francis gives a more recent and detailed account of what happens on the journey to Europe.

In an interview on SVTV Africa, the young man who arrived in Italy three months ago revealed that like many Ghanaians and Africans who endanger their lives for better opportunities abroad, he left Ghana knowing that he may end up dead on a shoreline.

According to Francis Yankey, he met five other men with the same plan to enter Europe through Libya. However, two out of the three travelled back to Ghana, and one died.

“They camped seventy-two of us in a ghetto on Thursday and waited until Saturday evening before setting off onto the sea. There were sixty-nine Ghanaians, two Nigerians and one Ivorian. In my mind, I had left everything to God, but I got scared when I saw the large body of water.

"While on the sea, Libyan authorities found out and tried to take us back to Libya, but luckily, we found ourselves in a no man’s land. So they couldn’t arrest us. A German rescue team told us to wait for an Italian ship to transport us. We waited for five hours until they came and stayed on their ship for a week before arriving in Sicily,” he narrated.

Francis currently lives in a camp for immigrants with nine others. He mentioned that he would not have made the journey if he had known how scary it was.

Watch the full video below.