Palestinians Risk Death for Dream of Better Life in Europe

Tue Jan 03 2023
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Monitoring Desk

ISLAMABAD/RAFAH: Several Palestinians put their lives at risk across the Mediterranean to live a better life in Europe.

Younis al-Shaer fled Gaza with hopes of living a better life in Europe, only to return in a coffin to the Palestinian territory.

Taking risks for a better life

A large number of Palestinians take the risky trip across the Mediterranean and 21-year-old Younis was among them, who drowned alongside seven other Gazans in December before their bodies were returned home. A total of around 2,000 people were reported missing or dead in the Mediterranean last year by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

In southern Gaza, at the family home in Rafah, Samira al-Shaer told AFP that the death struck her like an “earthquake”.

“Even though I was aware of the risks associated with migration, I eventually gave up due to his frustration. I awaited news of his death every day,” She remarked.

She said while kissing her late son’s photo, “It was poverty and lack of work that forced him to leave”.

According to statistics from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, up to two-thirds of the 2.3 million people residing in the Gaza Strip are considered poor. Shaer spent two years studying accounting before deciding to leave the Palestinian territory with a group of family friends.

Since the Palestinian group Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, inhabitants have been unable to evacuate by air or water due to an Israeli siege.

Last February, Shaer travelled by land to Egypt, then continued to Libya, a hotspot for unlawful Mediterranean crossings. In the end, he planned to arrive in Belgium, and he would phone his mother during the challenging journey.

She recalled his words, saying, “Don’t worry, God willing, we will arrive.” She said that other relatives had completed the journey in the past.

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