One of the saddest and most revulsive stories and certainly the most protracted one enfolding in our times is that of the dealings with refugees on the run. Since 2021 those stranded in Libya have at least a voice which made it heard: David Yambio. The autobiographical sketch below, which David has written for this nomination, tells it all and needs no further comment. Only that much must be added: we wish him and his organization Refugees in Libya all the growing success it deserves and that finally the end of the orchestrated and inhumane lock-away – and look away – system under which these people are held is in sight….
Since we came across his book “Guantanamo Kid”, we are in touch with Jérôme Tubiana. He helped to make the commendation of that kid, El Gharani, possible; the youngest and innocently held prisoner of Guantanamo, whom he helped where he could once El Gharani was released after eight seemingly never-ending years…. When we asked Jérome if he would agree to be nominated Guardian of Humanity/Qilin-Giraffe he was hesitant and then proposed a joint nomination with David Yambio, another of “his heroes” – what we gladly accepted. Jérôme spent his adult life mostly on the road, by far the most time in Sub-Saharan Africa, first as an independent journalist and since 2018 as part of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Since that time, he ‘specialized’ on the refugee crisis enfolding between sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean, advocating for legal pathways for migrants and refugees stranded in Libya, and denouncing systematic abuses, which the United Nations have qualified as “crimes against humanity”. In his writing works, Jérôme, in his own words, is a “narrative journalist” portraying individual people and their struggle rather than trying to investigate and pass judgment as a detached by-stander. In doing so he acts like a friend and where he can, it could be said, as a brother for those in dire need for recognition and help…..
You may want to listen to podcasts with David, Jérôme and El Gharani here: www.fondation- ghf.one/podcast .
t.a., basel, July ‘24
And this is David Yambio’s own account of a situation which was and is his own life and struggle:
David Yambio, Autobiographical Sketch
My Name is David Oliver Yasona Yambio and the short and accepted version is David Yambio.
I was born in 1997 in a remote village in an internally displaced community in Sudan during the second civil war.
I was born to a family of farmers and hunters. When I was only two months old, my family was forced to flee to Congo, and the following year, in 1998, we sought refuge in the Central African Republic, where we lived without access to education or resources. Our survival depended heavily on charity organisations. In 2005, after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, my family and I returned to South Sudan. At the age of 8, I began attending school, but my education was interrupted in late 2009 when I was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony.
For nearly a year, between 2009 to 2010, I was forcibly conscripted as a child soldier, fighting in South Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic. Eventually, I managed to escape and return to my community in South Sudan in mid-2010. In 2011, South Sudan gained independence, providing an opportunity for me to resume my education. However, in 2013, another civil war erupted in South Sudan, and at the age of 16, I was forcibly conscripted by the government to join the army.
I fought in the war until 2016, when I decided to become a refugee and left my country, seeking safety in Northern Sudan and later in Chad. As a refugee, I lived under the protection of the international refugee convention. From there, I embarked on a journey through several African countries, including Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, and more, in search of better conditions and independence as a young man. In late 2018, I arrived in Libya.
Unfortunately, upon my arrival to Libya I was engulfed by nightmares made of torture, exploitation, forced labor, arbitrary detentions, and kidnappings. In early 2019, I attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea, but I was intercepted and forcibly returned to Libya, where I faced further human rights violations, dehumaization and torture. Another attempt in November 2019 led to my capture and sale to militias, who conscripted me to fight in the Libyan civil war of 2019-2020.
After surviving the war in April 2020, I made my third attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea in August 2020 but was again pushed back by the Italian coast guards to Libya. Further attempts in December 2020 also ended with arbitrarily detention in Libyan centers. In 2021, I worked with Libyan civil society organizations and international non-governmental organizations such as UNHCR, IOM, CESVI, IRC, and UNSMIL in an attempt to understand where and why refugees and people on the move were being dehumanized and ill-treated.
In September 2021, I resigned from fieldwork with Cesvi and UNHCR and started radio programs to raise awareness among affected communities and the Libyan population. However, my efforts were cut short when the neighborhood I lived in was violently raided by Libyan authorities in October 2021. Compelled by this event, I co-founded a self-organized movement called “Refugees in Libya,” advocating for change in migration policies, closure of detention centers, evacuation to safety, urging the UNHCR to fulfill its mandate, and raising awareness among the Libyan population as well as seeking justice at the European external borders.
From October 2021 to January 2022, I engaged with the Libyan government, participating in protests and negotiations for policy change. Unfortunately, after 3 months-long-protest, on January 10, 2022, the protest movement was violently evicted,and hundreds of members were taken to detention camps and I became a wanted individual under false pretenses of being a threat to Libyan national security. I spent the early months of 2022 on the run, and during this time, I approached Italian authorities for a humanitarian visa, but it was rejected.
In late June 2022, I made my fifth attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea and finally arrived on Italian territory, where I reside today. From July 2022 to December, I actively campaigned against the state’s irresponsibility and the passiveness of the UNHCR. In December, together with supporters, I launched a campaign titled “UNFAIR, THE UN REFUSAL AGENCY” in Geneva, which resulted in the release of more people from Libyan detention centers and their relocation to safe countries.
In June 2023, I launched another campaign titled “FROM TRIPOLI TO BRUSSELS, AMPLIFYING THE VOICES OF REFUGEES IN LIBYA” aiming to approach the European Union for policy change, accountability, and the liberation of detained refugees in Libya. This campaign achieved a significant result, with 221 detainees being released a week later.
In Bologna, Italy, on 26 and 27th of January 2024 I launched a campaign for the Evacuation of Human Rights Defenders from Libya. This was the kickoff of the transnational campaign across several European cities. The campaign aimed at the official recognition of those 221 human rights who took part in the protest movement I created in 2021 and who were later caught during the evictions and were punished for 18 months and only to be released as a result of the campaign in June ’23.
In April 2024, we took the campaign to Frankfurt Germany during the “WELCOME UNITED CONFERENCE” here we introduced our mobile exhibition which was and is an idea to amplify and showcase the work of human rights defenders in Libya. See a sample here.
In late May 2024, I took the campaign to Rome under the banner “FROM TRIPOLI TO ROME, IMAGINE AND BUILD NEW SAFE PASSAGES”
Currently, I am focused on pursuing legal procedures to hold accountable those responsible and to advocate for policy changes that prioritize the meaningful participation of migrant-led organizations in decision-making processes. I am working towards establishing an office in Bologna, Italy, where various local organizations will collaborate to provide support and assistance to refugees in Libya and people on the move in the North African region.
David Yambio, Italy, June ‘24