I.F. was born in Somalia 19 years ago. He lived there for a short time, spending his childhood and teenage years in Ethiopia.
Together with his uncle he leaves Ethiopia and passes through Kenya and Uganda.
He then finds a job as waiter in a salon de the in South Sudan. His uncle gets sick and then shortly after dies from his illness. One year later I.F. moves towards Khartoum, Sudan, where he goes back to school.
A few month later he decides to cross the desert to reach Libya but was arrested straight away. He spends the next 4 months in jail in Benghazi.
When he leaves prison he goes to Tripoli and takes a boat but in a wrong direction and arrives in Djerba, Tunisia.
He was hosted in Shousha refugees camp in the south, close to Libyan border.
After 2 years he back to Tripoli and takes a boat, this time in the right direction and arrives in Italy where 6 months later he is given political asylum
Ethiopia 2008 – Italy 2014
Scrittimaiali and Stefano Tommasi Fotografie will start the reverse trip going to Tunisia this Sunday, looking for Shousha refugees camp where I.F. spent 2 years.
Stefano Elmi – We will start from this wrong trip, which if it wasn’t been so dangerous would have been very comic. We will start from this wrong trip, unthinkable for us. Even myself I didn’t believe when he told to me, I thought I hadn’t understood. “Have you risked your life getting a wrong way?” I asked him, “I didn’t know. There weren’t any gps or compass on board. Just disembarked we thought to be in Italy, but we were in Tunisia” I.F. said
You can follow this story from next Sunday 16th on Facebook page Scrittimaiali: where there’s a story with the pics from the incredible Stefano Tommasi.
“you arrived or you died” I.F.
Stefano Elmi: reporter | Stefano Tommasi: photo-reporter
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