My Experience in Detention and My Hopes for the Future

There were a few hundred people in the detention centre, but only a handful of toilets and two bathrooms. The water was always cold. We were not allowed to go anywhere because we were detained. We received food only once a day at 1 o’clock, and the next meal would come again at 1 o’clock the following day. Every person received two large bottles of water.

Inside one container, there were sometimes 15 people, sometimes 8 or 9. Many people developed skin problems because we had no soap or clean clothes. We wore the same clothes we had from Libya. I had only a black jacket, and my trousers were the same ones I wore when I left Libya. I still had the open shoes I came with. I asked for shoes and warm clothes, but we received nothing. No organisation came to help us.

I slept in a container with six people. I slept on the ground with only a blanket. We kept our room clean ourselves because no one else did. In the room where I am staying now, there are ten people, and still there is no warm water.

I never saw a doctor during my time in detention. Whenever I asked, they told me, “Tomorrow.” When I was sick, I just stayed in bed until I felt better. There were also people with disabilities who were taken downstairs. In the camp where I am now, there is a small clinic nearby. When I had the flu, I went there, and they gave me medicine.

There was no interpreter in detention. The officers just gave us papers to sign and said, “If you want to translate, do it yourself.” I never saw an interpreter, except once for Arabic. We had to struggle to communicate and understand everything by ourselves.

I spent two and a half months in detention. During that time, I felt unwanted, as if no one cared about me. Everyone knows that our people have suffered so much, yet we were treated as if we didn’t matter.

When I was in detention, the police officers and guards were not kind to us. They did not like black people and often used violence. I remember one day when I tried to ask an officer when we were going to leave the camp. He looked at me and said, “You are a dog.” I answered, “I am not a dog.” Another man once asked me, “Why are you black?”

One day, while three of us – all black men – were standing in line waiting for food, one officer told us that we were criminals. That hurt deeply.

People in the camp tried to protest. They shouted, “We want to go out!” One man joined the protest, and the police tried to stop him. Four policemen entered a room where two people were inside and started beating them. There was no fight among us; we only wanted freedom and better treatment.

When the lawyers came, everything began to change. We said, “They are our hope, they will help us get out.” Without them, we would still be inside. There was one man who almost lost his mind; he cried every day.

Now, I feel much better. I have started to see hope and a future again. During detention, I felt hopeless, and at one point, I even thought about taking my own life because I felt that life had no meaning. But now I feel different. The police in this new place treat us better. They talk to us with respect, and things are peaceful.

Life is still not easy, but at least now I have hope. Everyone here has their own problems. What we need most are clothes, warmth, and the opportunity to work. This is a new place for us, and we want to start a new life.

My father is sick, and I want to find work so I can help my family and give them a better life. I am also here in Greece to continue my studies, to build a future for myself, and to contribute to society. I will respect and follow the rules of Greece and do my best to live peacefully within the community.