Farmers swap poverty in Ghana for exploitation in Europe
Owusu couldn't make a living in Ghana. He travelled to Italy to find work – but was shocked by the conditions there
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Owusu couldn't make a living in Ghana. He travelled to Italy to find work – but was shocked by the conditions there
Migrants walk from Italy towards France.
After struggling to make a living farming in Ghana, Owusu decided to look for opportunities abroad. He spent two years doing gruelling work in Libya before making the perilous boat crossing to Italy, where he found work in tomato farming. But Europe was not as he had imagined. Owusu is one of six migrant workers who told us about their experiences of migration for this series. An explanation of how we produced this interview can be found at the end.
Raphel Ahenu (BTS): Why did you decide to travel to Italy?
Owusu: Before I left Ghana, I was working as a farm labourer. The farm was owned by a relative of mine. We had agreed to share the harvest, but things became strained between us. I was doing all of the work, but he kept increasing his share of the harvest. I was also paying for fertiliser and pesticides out of my own pocket and he never paid me back. I had had enough, so I decided to look for other options.
I initially had a connection for Qatar, but it was too expensive to go. Flying there would have been much safer, but crossing the desert to Libya was around half the price.
I planned to find work in Libya once I got there, in order to pay for the sea crossing to Italy. I have an uncle in France who travelled the same way around 10 years ago. So I knew someone who had made it before.
Raphel: How did you afford the journey?
Owusu: I sold 20 bags of the corn I had harvested. It came to nearly 35,000 GHS (~£2,350), which I put aside for the trip. I didn’t want to be in debt to anyone, and was happy that I was paying to travel with my own money.
I used the money to pay the person making the arrangements, and to buy myself some good walking shoes, clothes and food items for the journey. I gave the rest to my younger brother for safekeeping in case I encountered any problems on the way.
Raphel: What was the journey like?
We crossed through Burkina Faso to get to Niger. There we got onto a pickup truck for the trip across the desert. It shouldn’t have held more than five people, but there were 35 of us! We were packed in like sardines. Luckily we stopped for regular breaks.
I ran out of money near the end of the journey, so I called my brother for help and he sent me more.
Once in Libya, I made contact with the man I was going to stay with. He told me to come to Tripoli. When I told this to the driver, he told me the fare had increased. Luckily the man I was meeting promised to pay him for me. True to his word, he paid for the remainder of my transportation fee – around 24,000 GHS (~£1,600)!
The man told me that drivers cheat their passengers in this way sometimes. And if the passengers don’t comply, they sometimes take them to a place where they’re forced to work to pay off an unagreed sum before eventually being released. I thanked him and promised to pay him back once I had found a job.
Raphel: What kind of work did you do in Libya?
Owusu: I found that plastering work was the quickest way to make money, and there are always jobs available because there are so many construction sites.
I ended up staying in Libya for around two years, which is much longer than I had planned. There were lots of problems there. I was beaten up and had all my money stolen several times.
The worst thing that happened was that I was almost kidnapped. Someone had told me and some other workers about a job with good pay, so we agreed to do it. But when we got into the car with him, something didn’t feel right.
Fortunately, my friend from Eritrea could understand Arabic and overhead the driver speaking on the phone. He was complaining that his friends with guns were not yet ready – they were planning to attack us. When the car slowed down enough, my friend opened the door and we all ran away. We were very fortunate to escape. Many people don’t make it back alive after being kidnapped in Libya.
Raphel: Can you tell me about the journey to Italy?
Owusu: The boat journey was terrifying. I saw many people die. As the rescue boat came towards us, lots of people moved to be closer to them. But then too many people were on one side of the boat and it started sinking.
At least 30 people drowned before we were rescued. I can’t swim, so I could easily have been one of them. I can’t really discuss this experience in more detail because it’s too difficult. I still have nightmares about being in the water.
Raphel: Could you tell me about what happened after the rescue then?
Owusu: We were taken to an Italian port, where we were registered and underwent a health check. From there we were taken to an accommodation centre for newly arrived migrants.
Before leaving Libya, I had saved the contact of a woman who said she would help me once I made it to Italy. So I found a phone and let her know I had arrived safely. Soon enough I was out of the migrant centre and working on a farm in Puglia.
Raphel: How did the work compare to farming in Ghana?
Owusu: The work wasn’t very different. In Ghana, we mostly farm by hand – so picking tomatoes and fruit was not so hard for me. But the living conditions were really bad.
I couldn’t believe I was in Italy, a country in Europe. The place we lived in was worse than anywhere I’ve lived in Ghana. Even some village rubbish dumps are better. There was no running water, electricity or toilets. The pay was terrible. We knew our supervisors were cheating us, but couldn’t do anything about it.
It helped to know that I was only going to be there temporarily. I didn’t want to stay in Italy. But I had friends who had done this before, and they told me that it would be safer if I hid on a rural farm for a while and got myself together again before continuing my journey. I told myself that, just as I had suffered in Ghana, I only needed to suffer in Puglia for a while. Then I would get myself to a better place.
If you want to achieve your dreams you have to sacrifice things. That’s how I saw it. I worked like that for about six months. Once I had a bit of money saved, I made plans to go to France.
Raphel: Did you get there?
Owusu: I started the journey, but didn’t make it all the way. Some people helped me with directions, and there were NGOs who helped with food. I made it to a place called Ventimiglia, but my first attempt to cross into France was a failure. The police caught me and sent me back. I tried four times, but they sent me back every time. Eventually, I gave up and went back to the farms.
It was not how I had imagined things were going to be. I was so down at that point. While I had been away, both of my parents and my younger sister had died. I had missed all their funerals. I felt I was wasting my youth away in Italy. After almost four years of being on the move, I decided I had had enough.
Some NGOs were offering help with asylum applications, but it wouldn’t have worked for me. One NGO told me that there were ways for me to return to Ghana, and that if I used them I wouldn’t be left empty handed. So I decided to find out more.
I went for an interview with IOM officials and they told me about the process. I cooperated, and they sent me back.
Raphel: What has life been like since your return?
Owusu: Things are still difficult. Every day I wonder if I should have stayed in Italy and hustled until I got my papers – because for some people it does eventually work out. But I was so tired and frustrated at the time.
Raphel: Do you plan on travelling again?
Owusu: If I don’t have to go via the desert, and if I can afford the trip, then why not? It’s difficult to live in Ghana right now – I can’t always afford to feed myself. I wish the government would offer me some support with farming. Then maybe I would stay.