Six years El Hiblu 3.
On 28 March 2025, we acknowledge the 6th anniversary of Abdalla, Amara and Kader arriving in Malta. Six years of dreams on hold. Six years of legal limbo. Six years of going to court and leaving frustrated. An anniversary that carries a lot of pain but also six years of strength, resilience and friendship.
Abdalla, Amara and Kader reached Malta on 28 March 2019. They were arrested, accused of terrorism, hijacking a ship, and threatening a crew, and were put on trial by Malta. They were among 100 migrants rescued by the tanker El Hiblu 1, which then attempted to take them back to Libya – the place they had tried to escape from. The larger group of migrants protested the forced return when identifying the shores of Libya. Some threatened to jump overboard in the prospect of being exposed to violence in Libya again. Amara, who attended a Catholic school as a youngster and learned English, interpreted between crew and migrants in this tense situation. Abdalla and Kader were called to his side, to help calm the situation. The three youngsters hadn’t known each other until that moment.
After seven months of detention – the first few weeks in a high-security prison wing – they were released on bail but that only marks the beginning of their ongoing legal limbo.
| Full title | Six years El Hiblu 3. 18 Years of stolen youth. 2192 days of struggle for justice. |
|---|---|
| Author | Jelka Kretzschmar, Julienne Schembri |
| Publisher | elhiblo3.info |
| Year | 2025 |
| Media type | Website |
| Link | https://elhiblu3.info/sixyears.html |
| Topics | Migration Routes & Transport, Criminalization of Borderwork - Trafficking |
| Regions | Mediterranean Sea |